Rory McIlroy aims to surpass one of European golf’s legends and narrow the gap on another by securing his seventh Harry Vardon Trophy this weekend.
The current Masters champion enters the final DP World Tour Championship with a 767-point advantage over Marco Penge in the Race to Dubai rankings, positioning him to win the season-long race for the fourth consecutive year.
A victory on Sunday would make the Northern Irishman a seven-time Race to Dubai champion, surpassing Seve Ballesteros, and bringing him within one win of Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight.
With 2,000 points on offer for the winner of this week’s final Rolex Series event at Jumeirah Golf Estates, McIlroy knows success is not guaranteed but he remains focused on climbing a list of prestigious names.
“Surpassing Seve with seven titles would be incredible. Getting closer to Monty is also amazing,” he remarked.
“When I say I’m not chasing anything, I mean that by focusing on key tournaments, the Race to Dubai sort of takes care of itself.
“I hope these season-long awards are a result of winning major tournaments along the way.
“So yes, I am still pursuing that, but it’s more a by-product of playing the great golf I know I’m capable of,” he added.
McIlroy extended his lead over Penge from 441 points after last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, thanks to an eagle and eight birdies in a flawless 62 on Sunday, tying for third place.
He aims to maintain momentum in Dubai, a tournament he’s won three times, including last year.
“Sunday was fantastic,” McIlroy shared. “I expected a similar lead over Marco as last week, but I performed well on the back nine, made birdies, and increased my lead going into this tournament,” he explained.
“Overall, last week was solid. I played exceptionally well over the weekend. I’m in a familiar position starting Thursday, and I’m excited to compete alongside Marco again. It should be a great week.
“My game felt strong over the weekend, and I hope to continue that from Thursday onwards.”
World number two McIlroy spoke on the day the DP World Tour announced the Rory McIlroy Award, a new annual trophy honoring Europe’s first Career Grand Slam winner.
The award will go to the DP World Tour member who performs best across all four major championships in a season.
McIlroy becomes the fifth person to have a DP World Tour award named after them.
“It’s a tremendous honor to be recognized alongside Harry Vardon, Sir Henry Cotton, Seve Ballesteros, and John Jacobs,” he said.
