‘I still feel like I'm right in there with a great chance’ - McIlroy third as Rahm shakes up Race to Dubai
Rory McIlroy was looking on the bright side despite missing a golden opportunity to top the Race to Dubai and opening the door for Jon Rahm in the battle for the Harry Vardon Trophy.
The Holywood star was hoping to win the Abu Dhabi Aldar Golf Championship for the first time and edge ahead of Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra in the race for his eighth Harry Vardon Trophy.
But while he drove the 384-yard first to set up an easy birdie and then chipped in for eagle three at the second, he couldn’t keep a clean card, and a three-under 69 left him solo third, four shots behind Rahm on 19-under par.
The Spaniard (31) won on the DP World Tour for the first time since the 2023 Masters, carding a five-under 67 to beat Tyrrell Hatton by two strokes on 23-under.
It was a record-setting sixth Rolex Series win for the Spaniard, who moves up to sixth in the Race to Dubai heading into the final event and admitted that he played with a great sense of calm following a fraught six-month period after the PIF’s announcement that it was pulling the financial plug on LIV Golf.
“I felt incredible calm, even when things didn't go my way,” said Rahm, who admitted he was moving on to “the next page” in his career post-LIV.
“Not much seemed to bother me, and probably the main reason why I was able to perform the way I have…Luckily in golf, I've been fortunate to have a lot of opportunities and take advantage of them, and hopefully I can keep doing so.”
McIlroy leapfrogged Patrick Reed into second and cut Chacarra’s lead to just 533 points.
But with 2,000 points on offer for the winner at Jumeirah Golf Estates, even Rahm has a chance now to be crowned European number one
“It was sort of a week where I felt like I had my chances,” said McIlroy, who followed bogeys at the third and fourth with birdies at the second, 10th and 11th to tie for the lead.
“Especially today, birdieing 10 and 11 on the back to get tied for the lead, and then I had two good chances, 12 and 13, and didn't make those. Had to scramble for par on 14. And then, yeah, I just couldn't keep my momentum going.
“But it was a good week. I saw some encouraging signs in the game. You know, I'm going to be in that final group going out on Thursday next week.
“So yeah, I obviously would have loved to have won the tournament, but there are enough positive signs to feel good about going into next week.”
Even though he remains winless in Abu Dubai and now has 11 top-three finishes in 15 starts, he was happy to almost halve his points deficit with Chacarra, who shot 69 to tie for 22nd on 11-under.
“Yeah, absolutely,” said McIlroy, who will go head-to-head with the Spaniard in the final group at Jumeirah Golf Estates, where he has won three times, knowing he will need at least a solo fourth-place finish to match Colin Montgomerie with eight Harry Vardon Trophy wins.
“That's where I wanted to be. It's a pretty familiar spot for me going into the DP World Tour Championship, and I'm excited for it.
“That was the goal coming into these two weeks: to try to catch Eugenio and Patrick and try to win the Race to Dubai again.
“Yeah, it would have been great to win this week and give myself not as much of a deficit or even a lead, but I still feel like I'm right in there with a great chance.”
McIlroy is clearly the favourite to be crowned European number one, but Rahm now has a mathematical chance after impressively breaking out of a tie with McIlroy, Hatton and Francesco Laporta on the back nine at Yas Links.
“It means a lot,” said Rahm, who finished dead last in his previous start in the BMW PGA and since become a father for the fourth time after opting out of LIV Golf before its demise.
“Still almost not letting myself believe it. It's been quite a while since I played good in a DP World Tour event… so from last to first, it's a pretty good feeling.”
The two-time Major champion put one hand on the trophy after following birdies at the 11th and 12th with a stunning 186-yard approach to two feet at the 15th.
“That six-iron might be the contender for the first shot of the year for me,” said Rahm, who now embarks on a new stage of his career post LIV Golf and a likely one-year PGA Tour ban.
With three wins in five starts at the DP World Tour Championship, a fourth victory there would force Chacarra to finish eighth and McIlroy second to stop Rahm winning his second Race to Dubai.
“I’m very excited,” Rahm said. “It actually gives me a little extra incentive for the next week. I really didn't think I was going to have a chance, so those are better odds than I expected.
“So, looking forward to it, and hopefully, I can get my fourth one and finish the year with back-to-back wins.”
Meanwhile, Lauren Walsh shot 72 to finish 64th on one over, 21 strokes behind Japan’s Shuri Sakuma in the LPGA’s Toto Japan Classic.
On the LET, Anna Foster closed with a one-under 72 to finish 21st on 10-under in the Aramco China Championship at Mission Hills.
Spain’s Ana Pelaez Trivino shot 64 to win by three shots from England’s Mimi Rhodes on 20-under while Douglas’ Sara Byrne shot 72 to share 56th on one under.
Kearney makes a move at Q-School
Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney fired a seven-under 65 to move into contention for his card at the Final Stage of the DP World Tour Qualifying School in Spain.
The former Irish PGA champion (38) made eight birdies and a bogey on the Hills Course in the third round at Infinitum Golf in Tarragona to move up to joint 16th on 13-under par.
The Dubliner is just one stroke outside the top 15 and ties who will be awarded conditional DP World Tour cards after six rounds.
He’s six strokes behind the leaders, Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde and Spain’s Joe Luis Ballester.
Ronan Mullarney and Gary Hurley have their work cut out to make the top 60 and ties who will make the 72-hole cut on Monday.
Mullarney shot a bogey-free, five-under 66 on the Lakes Course to share 111th on four-under, five strokes outside the top 60, while Hurley is a shot further back after posting a 69 at the same venue.
