Rory McIlroy targets Race to Dubai success again on DP World Tour and ‘happy’ with life after moving away from golf’s politics
Rory McIlroy feels he has a “responsibility” to prioritise the DP World Tour in a “fractured” men’s game and believes stepping away from his involvement in the sport’s politics has improved his life both on and off the course.
McIlroy arrives at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship with a commanding lead at the top of the standings, leaving the world No 2 closing in on a seventh Race to Dubai title and a fourth in as many years.
The 36-year-old won the PGA Tour’s FedExCup three times between his third Race to Dubai title in 2015 and fourth in 2022, with McIlroy since enjoying regular success on the DP World Tour as he looks to further close on Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Order of Merits.
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Highlights from the final round of the 2024 DP World Tour Championship, where McIlroy closed out his season with a victory
“There’s a wonderful heritage to this [DP World] tour,” McIlroy said ahead of the DP World Tour Championship. “I think with the fractured nature of the men’s professional game at the minute, this tour needs all of its stars to step up and play in the big events.
“I understand that I am one of those people and I want to do my utmost to help in whatever way that I can. I feel quite a responsibility to do that and to try to make this tour as strong as it can possibly be. I think that’s one part of it.
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Watch McIlroy’s best shots from his five major wins, including shots from his victory at Augusta National
“The other part is I enjoy it. I enjoy the places that we play, the people that play on the [DP World] Tour, the people that work at the Tour. We’ve shared a lot great moments from Ryder Cups together and great times and it just feels a lot more like home.”
McIlroy ended an 11-year wait for a fifth major title and completed the career Grand Slam with victory at The Masters in April, with the DP World Tour since recognising his achievement by naming an award after him.
The Northern Irishman also won the Amgen Irish Open on home soil and was part of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup team during a memorable campaign, where he also won twice on the PGA Tour, with McIlroy enjoying no longer having the burden of chasing the Grand Slam or behind-the-scenes discussions about the sport.
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McIlroy reflects on Team Europe’s win at this year’s Ryder Cup and his performances so far in 2025
“It [desire] is certainly not gone, but I think it’s just going one of those things where I’m not going to have to pick and choose where to sort of place my desire and what I want my goals to be,” McIlroy added. “I’m certainly not less driven, but maybe just more driven in focused areas.
“I don’t feel like chasing as much anymore. I’m not out chasing the Grand Slam. I’m not chasing these things. I’m very content with what I’ve done in the game. I’m still driven to do more but you know, it’s sort of a pinpoint to drive in certain directions.
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“I have a clear head and I’m out of all the political stuff in golf, basically, and I can just focus on playing and playing where I want to and making myself competitively happy by playing in the tournaments that I want to play.
“Then having more time to make myself personally happy with doing the things I want to do away from golf, travelling with my family and showing my daughter different parts of the world and doing things like that is a very nice place to be in life.”
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McIlroy’s best shots from his historical 2025 Masters victory at Augusta National
Can McIlroy complete ‘amazing’ success?
McIlroy enters the season finale with a 767-point advantage over Marco Penge and a 1,720-point cushion over Tyrrell Hatton in the Race to Dubai rankings, with the two Englishmen the only other players who could still overtake him as European No 1.
“To move from six to seven [order of merits], to go one past Seve [Ballesteros] would be amazing,” McIlroy added. “To get one closer to Monty [Colin Montgomerie] would be amazing.
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“When I say I’m not chasing anything, I think if I focused my energy on certain tournaments and try to play well at certain tournaments, then Race to Dubai is almost sort of takes care of itself.
“Hopefully these season-long awards are something that just come along because you’ve won some big tournaments along the way. I guess you could say I’m still chasing that, but I think that’s just more a by-product of playing the good golf that I know that I can.”
Can Rory McIlroy win the Race to Dubai again? Watch the DP World Tour Championship live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins Thursday from 7am on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the DP World Tour and more with no contract.
