Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour title for the third time and the Race to Dubai for the sixth time on Sunday, tying him with legendary Spaniard Seve Ballesteros. Seve Ballesteros) record.
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland broke the deadlock with Denmark's Rasmus Hoggard with a crucial birdie on the par-4 16th hole.
He then birdied the par-5 18th for a 3-under 69, which brought him to 15-under through four days, good enough to win by two strokes. The victory also earned him his sixth Medal of Honor.
The four-time major champion broke down on live television when asked what it would mean to equal Ballesteros' record.
“It's really cool. I think everyone knows what Sevey means to European golf. In the European Ryder Cup locker room, all we heard was Seve's quote,” said McIlroy, who Now two strokes behind all-time record holder Colin Montgomery. eight.
“We have a 1995 Sevey jersey and he played his last Ryder Cup in our locker room last year… I'm very proud that I can be compared to Seve.”
Rasmus attempted to follow in the footsteps of his twin brother Nikolai and bring the trophy back to Denmark for the second consecutive year, but he made a stunning 22-foot par save in the 17th hole but could not put the pressure on his opponent. McIlroy ended up with a par score and a final-round score of 71 on No. 18.
McIlroy started with a bogey, then had four straight birdies, dropped a few shots around the turn, and was tied with Hoygaard at 13 under after 15 holes.
Finally, he took the lead with a stunning second shot on the par-4 16th from 137 yards to less than a foot for his fifth birdie of the day and on the final hole Hit the ball six feet.
“I think if I didn't win today I would be miserable for a few weeks. I've been through a lot this year professionally and personally. It feels like the end of 2024. I've been hanging on a lot. It was a close call.
“So to be able to cross the finish line when I had a good start but wasn't at my best in the middle of the round, I felt really satisfied. I felt a lot of pressure, most of them but to do something like me Getting it done like that, I can now have a good few weeks of rest,” McIlroy added.
Including the Zurich Classic where he won the world No. 3 title with Sean Lowry, this is McIlroy's fourth global championship this season.
Hoygaard was disappointed not to win the title but was pleased to have the first of 10 PGA Tour cards handed out over the weekend to the top 10 players who are not yet members. This number one card allowed him to compete in some major events, including The Players Championship.
“I came to Abu Dhabi (the week before) with the goal of getting my first PGA Tour card, and I’m glad I did it,” said Hoygaard, who missed out on the card by one spot last year.
“It sucks to lose, but you need to make birdies at the end and Rory did that. I just worked hard all day.”
Australia's Adam Scott and Ireland's Lowry shot 68 in the final round to tie for third with France's Antoine Rozner at 11 under. England's Tyrrell Hatton was sixth at 10 under.
The 10 players who have obtained PGA Tour cards are Hoygaard, South Africa's Triston Lawrence, England's Paul Welling, Dane Niklas Norgaard, and Sweden's Jesper Svensson , Antoine Rozner of France, Matteo Manassero of Italy, Torbjorn Olsen of Denmark, Rikuya Hoshino of Japan and Tom McKibbin of Northern Ireland.
© 2024 AFP
