Rory McIlroy has been outspoken about his goals Go down in history as Europe's best golfer.
He was getting closer to that Sunday in Dubai.
The Northern Irishman shot a final-round 69 to win the DP World Tour Championship by two strokes, becoming the only player on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates to post four rounds in the 60s. It was his third victory in the event.
He also won the Dubai Race for the third consecutive full season and his sixth overall title, which tied Spanish legend Seve Ballesteros for second all-time. , the post-match interview showed how important this was to him.
“It's really cool. I think everyone knows what Sevey means to European golf, to the Ryder Cup players,” McIlroy said. “He meant so much to European golf and I'm so proud to be mentioned in the same breath.”
Rory McIlroy equals Seve Ballesteros' record 🥹 pic.twitter.com/Zp0lyPsuGJ
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 17, 2024
Colin Montgomerie holds the most Dubai Race titles with eight.
McIlroy's 2024 season ended with a DP World Tour victory in Dubai, with wins at the Dubai Desert Classic in January and Sunday's final. He also won the Zurich Classic, a PGA Tour team event, with friend Shane Lowry and won by five strokes at the Wells Fargo Championship, one of the tour's signature events.
But as is often the case with the 35-year-old, he's had his share of heartbreaks, most notably two short putts late in the final round that cost him the U.S. Open at Pinehurst. Lose. At the pre-match press conference in Dubai, McIlroy admits loss still 'stings' He is motivated to match the two players ahead of him in the world rankings, Scotty Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.
To that end, McIlroy said he recently spent three weeks in a swing simulator doing high-intensity swing training.
“There was probably a time when I didn't like the shape of my golf swing, especially the backswing,” he said. “The only way I could make a change or at least move in the right direction of my swing was to lock myself in the studio and not see the ball flight for a while and just focus completely on the movement.”
“Thinking about doing it in the studio, that's a big key for me, just trying to start getting the swing back to where I want it to be. But as you know, it's an ongoing process, Gotta go out there and play. When you hit the ball in order, you always get back to where you're comfortable. Hopefully the more I do it over the next few months, it will settle in and get back to where I want it to be. “
For a week, the rewards of that work seemed great.