KIAWAH ISLAND, SC - MAY 21: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his tee shot on the 16th hole during the second round of the 2021 PGA Championship held at the Ocean Course of Kiawah Island Golf Resort on May 21, 2021 in Kiawah Island, South Carolina. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)

Rory McIlroy insists he has no regrets about his brief sojourn with Pete Cowen as he bids to match Pádraig Harrington's haul of 15 European Tour wins at this week's DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

The Co Down man began 2021 ranked fourth in the world, but after missing the cut by 10 shots in The Players in March, he turned to Cowen but fell to 15th in the world — his worst ranking for nearly 12 years — before winning the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

He would win the CJ Cup in his most recent start in Las Vegas a month ago but revealed he did not start working with lifelong coach Michael Bannon again until the following week and has high hopes at Jumeriah Golf Estates this week.

"It's been good," the world No 8 said of a year that saw him contend for the US Open at Torrey Pines before finishing seventh, five shots behind new world No 1 Jon Rahm.

"I feel like it's been a year of exploration, learning. There have been some good parts. Obviously, the couple wins in the States were nice. I was tied for the lead with nine holes to go at a major championship, at the US Open."

“If anything, Michael is more of a sounding board at this point.”

— Rory McIlroy on coach Michael Bannon

Ranked 20th in the Race to Dubai with Shane Lowry 18th, he cannot win the season-long race this week as it's a six-man battle between Collin Morikawa, Billy Horschel, Tyrrell Hatton, Min Woo Lee, Matt Fitzpatrick and Paul Casey.

"There's been some good stuff in there," added McIlroy, who will round off the season at Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas next month. "I've worked hard. I've learned a few things. And I feel like I've sort of gone through that sort of barrier, struggle if you will, and then I came through the other side of it.

"It's been an interesting year. I don't regret any of it. I think it's been a good year. Happy to be here. Happy to feel like my game is in good shape.

"I feel like I'm playing well. I got some confidence from the win in Vegas. I'll try to finish the year on a high."

Twice a winner of the DP World Tour Championship, he's hopeful he can contend for a third win this week, which would see him draw alongside Harrington with 15 European Tour wins in 236 fewer starts.

"It's a place I've had success on," he said. | It's a course that suits my game really well. I'll have a good chance this week. I don't feel like I need to do anything too special to give myself a chance on Sunday."

As for his decision to return to Bannon, he revealed that he can now maintain his swing on his own and merely uses his lifelong coach as a sounding board.

"Michael has always been my coach," he said. "He's coached me since I was eight years old. He's also been there, even if he wasn't visible, he's been in the background for the last six months, and I think Michael knows my swing and my game better than I probably know it at this point.

"So I just thought with the struggles that I had, especially at the Ryder Cup, it's funny, I talked to him at length after the Ryder Cup, and we had organised for him to come out the week after Vegas to start working again, and obviously I went and won Vegas.

"But those two weeks in between the Ryder Cup and Vegas, I feel like I figured a few things out on my own, which sometimes you need to do.

"I'm not saying that I don't need any help ever again and I've got figured it out, but I talked about it in Vegas, just about being myself and not trying to do anything that other people do or what I can't do.

"If anything, Michael is more of a sounding board at this point. I say to him this is what I'm trying to do. Tell me if I'm completely not right.

"But again, I've played golf a long time. I think I know what I'm doing for the most part. And that was really it. I said last week I've always had a relationship with Pete, I've known Pete since I was 13 years old from the Irish setup, and if I want to ask his opinion on something, I can still do that.

"If I feel like I need his input, I'll ask for it. As of right now, I'm happy with the setup that I've basically always had, and I'm excited for the road ahead."

As for the rebranding of the European Tour as the DP World Tour from next season, he said the deal, reportedly worth $70 million a year to the circuit over the next 10 years, was good for the rank and file in Europe but wouldn't change his schedule.

"It solidifies the Tour's future for a long time," he said. "And I think it gives a lot of the members on this Tour peace of mind and they're going to be playing for good prize funds and in good events.

"But for me personally, I think I'm just going to play the same schedule that I've basically played for the last sort of five years. It may encourage me to add an event here or there, for the most part, I'll probably keep doing what I've done the last few years."

McIlroy was supportive of world No 1 Rahm, who cited a long a difficult season and his desire to recharge with family as his reason for not travelling to Dubai this week to try to win the Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.

"He just won his first major this year, he's had his first child, he won this thing the year before," he said. "I fully understand. I don't think anyone can criticise him for not being here. He's given his all this year. He's had his trials and tribulations as well. He was an absolute star at the Ryder Cup for us.

"He couldn't have given more, and he's given a lot to the European Tour already. He goes to Spain and plays those events there in his home country. I don't think anyone can criticise him for not being here this week."

McIlroy will have played in six countries by year's end, and he admitted he feels guilty about his use of his private jet but takes steps to reduce his carbon footprint.

"So two years ago, after I won in China, I flew back home privately, and it was just me on the plane," he said. "And I just got this massive sense of guilt come over me just because this can't be good and all that sort of stuff.

"So we ended up reaching out to the GEO Foundation who do a lot of great sustainability things in golf, and that was the only sort of organisation that we knew of that I guess could help us go in the right direction.

"What I was trying to do is make all my travel—I wouldn't self-profess to be an eco-warrior, but I'm someone that doesn't want to damage the environment anyway, so how can I make my travel around the world neutral, how can I neutralise what I do.

"And they came up with a few different ways that I can do that. So on top of what I pay to fly private, I pay quite a bit more on top of that to make sure I'm carbon neutral by the end of the year.

"So it's something that I have a conscience about, and I take it seriously, especially when you see some of these weather events that are happening. And I live in a part of the world where hurricanes are very prevalent and becoming more and more prevalent as the years go on. I think we can all play our part in some way or another."