McIlroy sets sights on sixth Race to Dubai crown

Rory McIlroy has his sights firmly set on claiming his sixth Race to Dubai title at the DP World Tour Championship, and equalling the feat of the legendary Seve Ballesteros.

The Northern Irishman holds a healthy 1,785.02 point lead at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and it is a two-horse race at the DP World Tour’s season finale, with only South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence able to catch the five-time Harry Vardon Trophy winner.

McIlroy, who is looking to top the season-long Rankings for the third year in a row, is in pole position to win the Race to Dubai, with Lawrence requiring his first Rolex Series win at Jumeirah Golf Estates to stand any chance of becoming the first South African since Ernie Els in 2004 to be crowned European Number One.

Claiming a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy would see four-time Major winner McIlroy draw level with Ballesteros and move just two behind Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, who holds the record with eight Rankings victories.

The 35-year-old won the first Rolex Series event of 2024 – the Hero Dubai Desert Classic – and also won twice on the PGA TOUR – before claiming further top five finishes at the next three Rolex Series events, the Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

McIlroy said: “I think it’s always nice for me, anyway, to start and end the year here in Dubai. It’s typically what I’ve done most of my career. I’ve had a lot of success in the region. You know, winning at the Emirates again this year, and winning this tournament a couple of times, and hopefully The Race to Dubai for a sixth time on Sunday if I can just keep playing the way I played last week in Abu Dhabi.

“I guess I am a little too young to remember a lot of Seve’s career and things that he did. Seve is almost like a, not a mythical character to me but was just a little bit before my time. But he was my dad’s favourite player,” he added.

“The immense impact he had on European golf from Ryder Cup and from what he did for the European Tour, he means a lot to the overall game of golf but specifically in this part of the world and on this Tour. So to draw level with him and to have a career that can sort of somewhat stack up against his is very cool.

“I got to play with Thriston the final day at Wentworth and got to play that one hole in the play-off. Played with him the first two days last week. For example, you could see why he did well in The Open at Troon, just his ball flight, the way he manages his game. He’s quite a creative player. He plays a lot of different shots,” McIlroy concluded.

Four-time DP World Tour winner Lawrence has enjoyed an excellent season, with runner up finishes at the Dubai Invitational – alongside McIlroy – the Jonsson Workwear Open, European Open, Betfred British Masters and the BMW PGA Championship, where he and McIlroy lost out in a play-off to Race to Dubai Number Four Billy Horschel.

The 27-year-old, who also has four Sunshine Tour victories to his name, secured his best Major finish to date with his fourth place at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon earlier this year and kept his Race to Dubai hopes alive with a tie for sixth at Yas Links last week. He will need to win this week’s DP World Tour Championship and hope McIlroy finishes in a tie for 11th place or lower to top the Rankings.

The DP World Tour Championship is the second and final event of the inaugural DP World Tour Play-Offs, with the top 50 available players on the Race to Dubai teeing it up this week. As well as competing for the tournament title and the Race to Dubai, players will also be fighting for PGA TOUR cards, with the top ten non-exempt players on the final Race to Dubai Rankings earning dual membership.

Lawrence said: “It would mean the world, being the best golfer on the European Tour over the year is an unbelievable achievement.

“Obviously to play on the DP World Tour has been a dream for me. Sitting here right now, I’ve achieved a lot of things that I’ve wanted to. But to get this trophy behind me would be just unbelievable,” he added.

“Ranking-wise, the best season I’ve had in my life. I’ve won twice in my rookie year, twice last year. This year, I won on the Sunshine Tour which is nice. I always feel like with the strength of golfers in today’s time, winning on any tour is quite an achievement.