It\u2019s a much longer, quieter pursuit that most golf fans might miss, but trust that McIlroy doesn\u2019t feel that way about it. He wants to be considered the greatest European golfer of all-time, and if he isn\u2019t there quite yet, he\u2019ll be able to inch even closer to that title this coming week in Dubai.\u00a0<\/p>\n
McIlroy leads the Race to Dubai with one week to go, and only Tyrrell Hatton and Marco Penge have a realistic shot of getting in his way. Claiming the year-long title isn\u2019t necessarily special for McIlroy, but it\u2019s representative of something greater. It would be his seventh career Race to Dubai title, the award formerly known as the Order of Merit, and McIlroy is in second place for career marks in that regard. Colin Montgomerie is in first with eight titles.<\/p>\n
Ryder Cup snub narrowly tops Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy in Abu Dhabi<\/a><\/p>\n By:<\/p>\n In the coming days, McIlroy will host a press conference from the Jumeirah Golf Estates and will no doubt be asked about it. It would be his fourth-straight Race to Dubai title and first since last year, when he tied Seve Ballesteros for six total, which made McIlroy quite emotional.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI just think about what Seve meant to the game, to this tour, to the European Ryder Cup Team,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cWe 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 shirt he ever wore when he played the Ryder Cup at Oak Hill in \u201995.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was that, and then combined with the fact that I\u2019ve had so many close calls this year. Certainly didn\u2019t make it easy for myself, either, out there on the back nine.<\/p>\n \u201cI think just the combination of the Seve thing plus finally getting over the line in what\u2019s felt like a long time, I think the emotion of it all just sort of hit me. Yeah, that\u2019s why I had to compose myself.\u201d<\/p>\n It was only a few minutes later that he started looking forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve come this far, I might as well try and get to eight or nine [titles],\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cGetting to six and three in a row, and prioritizing The Race to Dubai and DP World Tour and trying to achieve something that no one else in the game has achieved if I am to surpass Monty.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019ve got a good 10 years left, I think. Look, again, the other thing is, who knows what the world of golf looks like in a few years\u2019 time. But as long as The Race to Dubai is happening and there\u2019s an Order of Merit and we\u2019re on this tour, I\u2019m going to want it, yeah.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n ![\"Aaron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/aaron-rai-tommy-fleetwood-abu-dhabi-2025.jpg\")
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\n Kevin Cunningham <\/a><\/p>\n