Rory McIlroy has won the European Tour’s Race to Dubai for the second time in three years, despite not having played competitive golf for the last few weeks.
In October the Northern Irish golfer announced he would be taking a break in order to prepare for the upcoming legal battle with his former management company, Horizon. Stating at the time he would be missing the BMW Masters and the WGC HSBC Champions, McIlroy was also a no-show at this past weekend’s Turkish Open.
His fate as Europe’s number one lay in the balance at Antalya with three players, Sergio Garcia, Jamie Donaldson and Marcel Siem needing to win in order to be able to catch McIlroy in the Race to Dubai.
As yesterday’s final round drew to a close 24-year-old American, Brooks Koepka won his first European Tour victory at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal Golf Course, sealing McIlroy’s position at the top. A spot the 25-year-old thinks he’s more than earned the second time around.
“This has obviously been the best season of my career by a long way and to win the Race to Dubai for the second time really is something truly special,” the Nike player said yesterday.
“Winning it for the first time two years ago was a fantastic feeling but I feel like I’m now a more complete player and my all-round game has moved to another level.”
McIlroy will return to action this week at the season-ender DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, where he’s hoping to go out with yet another win.
“I’ve put in a lot of hard work this season, with my game and my fitness, so it’s nice to get the rewards at the end of it. In some ways the pressure is off next week, but I’ll fight very hard to end the year on a high with another victory."
