‘This one’s for him’ – Rory McIlroy dedicates eighth Race to Dubai title to his father Gerry

The inner steel finally cracked, as Rory McIlroy – who claimed a record-equalling eighth Harry Vardon Trophy for topping the season-long DP World Tour order of merit – let his emotions come to the surface in dedicating this latest addition to his own golfing legacy to his father, Gerry.

“This one’s for him,” said a tearful McIlroy, after revealing his father had undergone surgery in September and was recovering in hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, adding: “He’s recovering well, thankfully. But when I left to come here to the Middle East, I went up to Cleveland to see him before I went. He said to me, ‘Go win the Race to Dubai!’”

While Tyrrell Hatton put on a masterclass to win the Tour Championship at The Earth course, the Englishman finishing with a superb 66 for a total of 15-under-par 273, McIlroy’s solo runner-up finish five shots adrift was sufficient for him to leapfrog Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra in the order of merit standings at the death.

McIlroy’s eighth order of merit – and fifth in a row – enabled him to move alongside Colin Montgomerie and brought with it a desire to claim a ninth and stand alone in the coming seasons.

The emotion displayed by McIlroy in dedicating this one to his father had remained in check on a thrilling final day in Dubai, where the mathematical calculations changed repeatedly between the Northern Irishman and the Spaniard in projected standings with, incredibly, a decimal point (0.1) separating the two, to Chacarra’s advantage, coming into the closing stretch.

The decisive moment would come on the par-4 16th hole where McIlroy hit a gap wedge from 128 yards to inside 12 inches for a tap-in birdie. McIlroy’s move from second to first on the projected standings was confirmed as he walked off the green and caught the change on the giant TV screen alongside the green.

And, indeed, it all came down to the par-5 18th before the order of merit was decided with neither McIlroy – who hit a loose drive into the trees right and was forced to chip out sideways – nor Chacarra, who hit his approach into a greenside bunker, managing to find a birdie.

It meant that McIlroy, who had started the tournament 533.93 points behind Chacarra, leapfrogged his way to the top with his final total of 5,044.86 to 4,919.79, giving the Masters champion a margin of 125.07 points.

“It was a good fight. I just came out short, that’s the beauty of golf. Obviously, when you play with the best in the world, you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did,” said Chacarra, who shot a final round 69 for 280 to finish tied-third alongside Finland’s Oliver Lindell.

McIlroy’s joy at this latest order of merit title was apparent, especially given the special dedication to his father.

“Winning eight Order of Merits was never really in my list of goals when I was growing up. I remember Monty being obviously a stalwart of the European Tour and going to watch him at the World Match Play at Wentworth over the years. I remember playing with him for the first time at The London Club at The European Open in 2008.

“So, to pull up alongside him and to win eight of these things, it means the world to me. I’m a very proud European. I’m a proud European player. I’m proud to be a part of the DP World Tour. I’m very proud of myself right now.”

McIlroy – who has won order of merits in 2012, 2014, 2015, and five-in-a-row from 2022-2026 – attributed his consistency as the key factor.

“I pride myself on my consistency. I would have loved to have come here to the Middle East these last couple of weeks and got a win. I finished third last week [in Abu Dhabi]. I finished second this week. I think I did the exact same thing last year to win The Race to Dubai, as well.

“So, just my consistency and my finishes. I’ve done a good job the last few years of not playing my way out of tournaments, and that was maybe a little bit of the case earlier on in my career. I just think with a bit of maturity and experience, I can manage my game and my emotions and everything a little bit better and I feel like I’m never out of it.”

Hatton’s fine win came with a closing 66 for a five shots winning margin over McIlroy and a significant addition for the former LIV golfer now returned to the DP World Tour in his quest to make Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Adare Manor next year.

“It’s an important time to try and earn Ryder Cup points. This helps a lot. I want to be on that team in a year’s time,” said Hatton.