Rory McIlroy was in tears after joining Seve Ballesteros on six order of merit titles in Dubai on Sunday. There can be no doubt the late, great conquistador would have been impressed with the way the Northern Irishman hauled himself out of a hole of his own digging to make it a double celebration.
Ballesteros was McIlroy’s father’s hero and this victory was clearly packed with resonance. But there was far more to the crying in front of those grandstands on the Earth Course. After calling himself “The Nearly Man” because of so many agonising defeats since June and the US Open – where he handed the trophy to Bryson DeChambeau with three bogeys in the last four holes – McIlroy proved he can still produce the big moment when needed.
Having blown a three-shot advantage after six holes, he hit an audacious wedge from 140 yards to inches on the 16th for a birdie that allowed him to restate his dominance over Rasmus Hojgaard and from there to lengthen out to win, not only the Race to Dubai, but the tournament itself, in the manner of a true and clinical champion.
And although McIlroy’s detractors will claim it will only count when he picks up that elusive fifth major, the world number three had piled so much pressure on himself at the DP World Tour Championship that it genuinely seemed as if he had crossed the Rubicon. That was another reason for the ducts opening fourth.
“It means a lot. I’ve been through a lot this year professionally and personally,” McIlroy said. “It feels like a fitting end to 2024 – I’ve persevered this year a lot, had close calls, wasn’t able to get it done. So to be able to get over the line. I hung on and got the job done.”
McIlroy’s personal life was in disarray in May when he filed for divorce, before withdrawing the court papers a month later. His embrace with three-year-old daughter Poppy and wife Erica minutes after he secured his two-shot triumph – his fourth victory of the year – was full of emotion.
On McIlroy’s garlanded CV, this success will hardly stand out – this was his third Harry Vardon Trophy in a row and his third consecutive DP World Tour Championship – but there was a palpable sense of deep importance as he posed with the two pieces of silverware. And no, it was not because the two winning cheques added up to $5 million (£3.95 million).
In a week that was dominated by Telegraph Sport’s revelation that for the first time in the near 100-year history of the Ryder Cup, at next year’s match in New York one of the teams is set to be paid for playing – naturally Team USA with $400,000 each – Sunday’s scenes in the desert were the latest evidence this sport has so far more going for it than rich finance. In fact, golf is so much better when the drama and intrigue is all about the action and not the rewards. And this afternoon viewing was at times excruciating as McIlroy threatened to capitulate once more.
It had looked so simple after McIlroy, the joint overnight leader, had bounced back from a bogey on the first by rolling off four birdies in succession from the second to take a three-shot lead, and when he stood over a short birdie attempt on the par-five seventh, the procession was apparently in motion.
Yet he yanked that four-footer and when McIlroy proceeded to bogey the ninth and then miss birdie chance after birdie chance before dropping another shot on the 13th, the alarm bells were ringing.
We had seen this before from McIlroy and not only at Pinehurst on that fateful Sunday five months ago. He gave up a lead to Hojgaard at the Irish Open in September and then again the next week to Billy Horschel at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and that is when he called himself “The Nearly Man”. Was this to be another case of second-itis?
The season-long Race To Dubai was already tied up when McIlroy came to the 16th – Thriston Lawrence had required a win and for McIlroy to finish outside the top 11 and the South African finished in a tie for 30th – and the tension was solely on the tournament proper. McIlroy produced his wonder shot to go one ahead and birdied the last to make sure, with a 68 for a 15-under total. At that point Seve’s memory figured large and so he teared up.
“We all know what he means to European golf and the Ryder Cup team,” McIlroy said. “On the wall in our team room in the last match we had Seve’s shirt from ’95, the last Ryder Cup he played. So for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I’m very proud. I only have Monty [Colin Montgomerie] ahead of me now with eight of these things and I’ll be back next year trying to get within one.”
Hojgaard – whose twin brother, Nicolai, won this event 12 months ago – can take consolation that by finishing second in the rankings, he has earned playing privileges on the PGA Tour for 2025. The other nine recipients of cards on the game’s premier circuit include Tom McKibbin, who pipped England’s Jordan Smith with a tie for 11th.
McKibbin learned to play and honed his skills on the same small layout in a Belfast suburb as McIlroy and the champion selflessly had a private word with his countryman before he began his own celebrations. It is fair to say this was yet another good day for Holywood Golf Club.
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