Talking to the media in the wake of claiming his sixth Race to Dubai title, his third DP World Tour Championship and $5 million in cash ($3 million for winning the tournament, $2 million for topping what used to be called the Order of Merit), Rory McIlroy looked relieved more than anything. Little wonder, of course. At the end of a year he acknowledges will be remembered more for what he didn’t win—most notably the U.S. Open at Pinehurst—than for what he did, the four-time major champion was in need of a victory. Any victory.

Given those circumstances, it surely didn’t even matter how McIlroy made it over the finishing line. Stumbling would be just fine, as long as it happened. Which is just as well. For long enough in the middle of his final-round 69—after four birdies in his first five holes and before two more in the last three holes—the 35-year-old Northern Irishman was doing many of the things golfers do when they end up losing.

Fairways, greens and putts were being missed, sometimes consecutively. In the 10 holes that followed his opening salvo, McIlroy was two over par and no doubt happy to reflect on the fact that his closest opponent, Rasmus Hojgaard, wasn’t exactly scorching the Earth Course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates either. Over those same 10 holes, the Dane was just one under par and no better than level with the eventual champion.

“I’ve been through a lot this year, professionally and personally and yes, I was feeling it,” admitted McIlroy, whose closing 69 meant he was the only man in the 50-strong field to break 70 in all four rounds. He shot 15-under-par total. “I had chances. I had a chance on 10 that slipped by. Then another chance on 11. I bogeyed 13. I had a 7-iron in my hand on 14 going into the par 5. So going into the last few holes, I needed something to happen. The wedge shot to a foot on 16 was the catalyst I needed to push on and play those last couple of holes well. To be able to get it done is huge. I made four great swings coming in. I’m really pleased with the way I finished.

“I would have been miserable for a few weeks if I had not won today,” he continued. “It would have just added to the list of ones that I felt I let get away. So for one to not get away and to get over the line and be the final event of the year feels nice.”

That is clearly something of an understatement. McIlroy was outwardly emotional speaking alongside the 18th green in the immediate aftermath of what was eventually a two-shot victory. And there was plenty of pent-up feelings obvious in his press conference too. Calling his six Race to Dubai wins “a huge achievement,” he was clearly keen to enjoy the moment and the fact that he has now tied the record of the late, great Seve Ballesteros. Only Colin Montgomerie’s eight wins are still to be surpassed.

“I just think about what Seve meant to the game, to this tour, to the European Ryder Cup team,” said McIlroy. “We sit in the locker room at the Ryder Cup, and the place is just filled with Seve quotes, every wall you look at. We had a changing room last year in Italy with the last European shirt he ever wore when he played the at Oak Hill in ’95. It was that, combined with the fact that I’ve had so many close calls this year. Just the combination of the Seve thing plus finally getting over the line for the first time in what felt like a long time. The emotion of it all just sort of hit me and that’s why I’ve had to compose myself.”

It hasn’t all been doom and gloom, or course. The record book for 2024 will reflect that McIlroy won four times, twice in Dubai, once at Quail Hollow and once in tandem with his close pal, Shane Lowry in New Orleans. But that is not the narrative that will be remembered and talked about. More than once, the 35-year-old returned to the dire implications and thoughts another defeat would have wrought upon his psyche. And on that front, some defiance kicked in.

“I know how people are going to view my year,” he said. “I view my year similarly. But at the same time, I still have to remember I won four times and accumulated a lot of big finishes and big performances. The two guys who had better years than me have had career years. Xander [Schauffele] won two majors, and Scottie [Scheffler] has won a Players and a Masters and an Olympic gold medal.

“Amidst it all, what I’ve learned is it doesn’t have to be important for everyone else,” he continued, before admitting that 2024 has been the most emotionally draining season of his career. “I think what I did today is very meaningful for me personally. But from an outside perspective, it mightn’t be that meaningful if people are judging in terms of other things that I’ve achieved in the game and the things that I didn’t achieve this year. But just because it maybe isn’t as important to them doesn’t mean that it shouldn’t be important to me.”

Rory McIlroy as 2024 Race to Dubai Champion with Wife and Daughter - Richard Heathcote

Richard Heathcote

And then there was time to look forward rather than back. Winning the Masters remains the one thing McIlroy has yet to achieve in what is already a storied career.

“I’ve come this far, I might as well try and get to eight or nine wins,” he said of the Race to Dubai. “Getting to six and three in a row means I am on course to achieve something that no one else in the game has achieved. I’ve got a good 10 years left. Look, who knows what the world of golf looks like in a few years time. But as long as there’s an Order of Merit and we’re on this tour, I’m going to want to win it.”

It’s going nowhere, of course. And the new season starts Thursday in Australia. Not that McIlroy will be there. He’s heading home for a rest. Not a moment too soon. If timing is everything in golf and in life, this was a win that mattered more than most.

Main Image: David Cannon