The DP World Tour announced the “Rory McIlroy Award” at the 2025 DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Golf Insider Jamie Kennedy has shared his speculations regarding who could have won this award in recent years. Since McIlroy became the first European to win a career grand slam, the award was named after the Northern Irishman to celebrate his success.
According to the DPWT, the award will be exclusive to the pro who manages to rack up the most Race To Dubai points across all four majors in a season. From 2026, golfers will be eligible to compete for this prestigious trophy. As per the rules set by the DP World Tour, Rory McIlroy would not be able to be a contender for this award.
On his X account, Kennedy penned a hypothetical list of names starting from 2016 who could have won the award. The list also included Rory McIlroy’s 2024 Zurich Classic partner Shane Lowry, as the latter could have won the award in 2019.
“I went back through recent years to see who (hypothetically) would have won the award.
(𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘗𝘎𝘈, 𝘜𝘚, 𝘖𝘱𝘦𝘯)🎖️2025: Robert MacIntyre (MC, 47, 2, 7) 🎖️2024: Ludvig Aberg (2, MC, 12, MC) 🎖️2023: Jon Rahm (1, 50, 10, 2) 🎖️2022: Matt Fitzpatrick (14, 5, 1, 21) 🎖️2021: Jon Rahm (5, 8, 1, 3) 🎖️2020: Collin Morikawa (44, 1, MC, NT) 🎖️2019: Shane Lowry (MC, 8, 28, 1) 🎖️2018: Patrick Reed (1, MC, 4, 28) 🎖️2017: Sergio Garcia (1, MC, 21, 37) 🎖️2016: Henrik Stenson (24, 7, WD, 1)
What is the “Rory McIlroy Award”? • Given to the @DPWorldTour member with the most R2D points across the majors • Will start in 2026 • Rory, himself, is ineligible to win the award I went back through recent years to see who (hypothetically) would have won the award.
It’s worth noting that Rory McIlroy happens to be the fifth golfer on the European Tour to have an award named after himself. The other four annual awards on the DP World Tour are the Harry Vardon Trophy, Sir Henry Cotton Award, The Seve Ballesteros Award, and The John Jacobs Trophy.
McIlroy, who is currently playing in the finale of the DP World Tour’s 2025 campaign, admitted that it was “very special” to have his name etched among the legends.
“I look forward” – Rory McIlroy shares his take on the future recipients of the DPWT award named after him
The annual trophy named after Rory McIlroy will be handed to an eligible golfer for the first time in the 2026 British Open at Royal Birkdale. While talking in the press conference at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the seasoned golfer from Hollywood, Ireland, expressed that he looked forward to crowning the first winner. McIlroy said, as quoted by the DP World Tour:
“I look forward to seeing who becomes the first recipient of this new award in 2026 and it will be another very proud moment for me personally to present the trophy to them…”
In his press conference, Rory McIlroy also expressed how proud he was to be the first European professional to achieve this historic feat. The golfer also stated that he hoped his success would become an inspiration to other European Tour members.
As the DP World Tour Championship kicks off on November 13, McIlroy will be on a pursuit of his seventh Race To Dubai title. With three wins in this season-ending DP World Tour event, the six-time major champion will tee off alongside Marco Penge at 12:40 pm (local time).
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Edited by Hitesh Nigam
