'This one's for him' – McIlroy dedicates eighth Race to Dubai crown to his father Gerry
Rory McIlroy was emotional as he dedicated his triumph to his father, Gerry, after writing another epic chapter in his incredible career by claiming a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai.
The Co Down star (37) closed with an immaculate 67 to finish second in the DP World Tour Championship and match Colin Montgomerie’s record before choking back tears as his father recovers from major surgery in a Cleveland hospital.
"He's been in the hospital for the last two months,” McIlroy revealed. "He underwent a huge operation at the end of September, and he's recovering well, thankfully.
"But you know, when I left to come here to the Middle East, I went up to Cleveland to see him before I went, and he said to me, ‘Go win the Race to Dubai.’”
McIlroy said his father had been in his thoughts, “a lot” in the build-up to the last two events of the season.
“Yeah, this one's for him,” he said, choking back tears.
The final round was an enthralling battle between McIlroy and Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra for the Harry Vardon Trophy, and it went right to the final green.
An emotional Rory McIlroy speaks about his father after winning an eighth Race to Dubai title. #DPWTC | #RolexSeries https://t.co/JIMjEgy5uF
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As Tyrrell Hatton cruised to victory, carding a brilliant six-under 66 to win by five shots on 15 under, McIlroy and Chacarra swapped the lead at the top of the Race to Dubai in a thrilling final round.
After making par at the 18th following a wayward drive, McIlroy knew he would be champion if Chacarra or Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg failed to join him in a tie for second.
The Swede’s hopes died when he bogeyed the 17th and drove into water at the 18th, while Chacarra, who then needed an eagle at the last, bunkered his second and could only make birdie.
The Madrid native (26) signed for a 69 to tie for third with PGA Tour-bound Finn, Oliver Lindell (65) on eight-under.
But it was McIlroy who was celebrating as he matched Montgomerie with his eighth Race to Dubai win.
"I don't really know what to say,” McIlroy said. "I mean, winning Orders of Merit was never really on my list of goals when I was growing up.
Race to Dubai winner Rory McIlroy and DP World Tour Championship winner Tyrrell Hatton celebrate at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Picture: Getty Images
"I remember Monty being obviously a stalwart of the European Tour. Going to watch him at the World Match Play at Wentworth over the years, I remember playing with him for the first time at the London Club at the European Open in 2008.
"So to pull up alongside him and to win eight of these things, yeah, it means the world to me
"I'm a very proud European. I'm a proud European player. I'm proud to be a part of the DP World Tour. And I'm very proud of myself right now.”
The Holywood star showed huge character to bounce back from Saturday’s wayward 72, which left Chacarra (26) poised to become just the third Spaniard to be crowned European number one.
He birdied the first, then followed a long-range putt for a two at the sixth with a birdie four at the seventh to move into a tie for second on the leaderboard.
Lindberg briefly pushed him down to third, restoring Chacarra as number one, and the Spaniard went on to birdie the sixth, seventh and eighth to briefly move up to solo second on the leaderboard.
McIlroy responded from five feet at the ninth to share second with Chacarra and Lindberg.
But while Lindberg birdied the eighth to share the lead with Hatton, Chacarra opened the door for McIlroy with three bogeys in his next four holes.
That allowed McIlroy to return to the top of the Race to Dubai, as Chacarra needed to finish fourth with two others to deny the Co Down man, provided he didn’t finish solo second.
But the Spaniard responded with back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th to reclaim the top spot by the incredible margin of just 0.10 Race to Dubai points.
Solo second would be enough for McIlroy and he regained that position by hitting a wedge to a foot at the 16th to go back to the top of the projected standings.
“This is probably a good thing,” McIlroy said, “but I wasn't aware of how much it was going back and forth until the 16th.
“When I was walking to the green, I saw that he was projected one, and then when I made my birdie and I was walking off the green, I saw that I was projected one.
"I was like, oh geez, and I felt a little nervous going to the last couple of holes.”
The Co Down man had a chance to make life almost impossible for Chacarra with a birdie at the 17th, but he missed from seven feet.
Chacarra was under huge pressure, but after missing the 17th green as McIlroy drove into the bark mulch way right at the 18th, he almost chipped in and then brushed in a five-footer for par.
Chacarra was tied for fourth with Lindell on eight under, but the Swede couldn’t do him a favour and draw level with McIlroy over the final two holes.
Bogeys at the 17th and 18th for a 71 left him tied for fifth on seven-under.
“I did what I needed to do. I shot a good score today, and a lot of other things went my way today as well,” McIlroy said.
“No one made a run. You know, Eugenio played pretty good, but you know, none of the chasing pack did anything because if I had to finish tied for second or whatever, whatever would have happened.
"There were a lot of different scenarios, but just thankfully everything fell my way today.:”
He added, "I pride myself on my consistency. I would have loved to have come here to the Middle East these last couple of weeks and got a win, but I finished third last week. I finished second this week.
"I think I did the exact same thing last year to win the Race to Dubai as well. So, just my consistency and my finishes.
"I feel like I've done a good job over the last few years of not playing my way out of tournaments, and that maybe was a little bit of the case earlier on in my career.
"But I just think with a bit of maturity and a bit of experience, I can manage my game and my emotions and everything a little bit better. And I feel like I'm never out of it."
Hatton was thrilled to win his sixth Rolex Series event and claim third place in the season-long rankings.
“This is really special,” Hatton said. I was really nervous today. I didn't say anything to anyone in my team or even to (my wife) Emily.
"I've had a bit of heartbreak round here, and I felt like it was going to be a difficult day. And I'm just really proud of how I played on the back nine.
"Putter was amazing. Certainly saved me all week, and it feels so good to win here.”
As for Chacarra, he could only congratulate McIlroy on a brilliant performance.
“Yeah, it was a good fight,” said the Spaniard, who will be joined on the US circuit next season by Patrick Reed, South Africans Casey Jarvis and Jayden Schaper, New Zealander Daniel Hillier, Dane Jacob Skov Olesen, Finland’s Oliver Lindell, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and England’s Andy Sullivan and Joe Dean.
“I just came out short. That's the beauty of golf, obviously, when you play with the best in the world. And he's played here 14, 15 times; you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did.
“I played good. I fight. I knew it was going to be a long day and I try my best. That's all I can ask for myself to do and that's what we did.”
