Rory McIlroy has a stunning record in Asia and will hope to add to that over the coming weeks.
The DP World Tour is in India this week before heading to South Korea and then the UAE for the two season-ending play-off events.
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McIlroy claimed victory at the 2011 Hong Kong Open in stunning styleCredit: Getty ‘Most excited I have ever been’ – Rory McIlroy sent Asia crowds wild with remarkable moment
McIlroy was hoping for glory at Delhi Golf Club but looks like he will come up short.
He’ll now turn his attentions to the lucrative Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and DP World Tour Championship as he eyes his seventh Race to Dubai title.
And, it will not be the first time he has triumphed on the continent.
The five-time major winner previously secured the Hong Kong Open back in 2011.
McIlroy finished two shots clear of Gregory Havret to scoop just under £300,000 in prize money and, at the time, his third DP World Tour win.
It was the way he sealed victory which left the crowd in amazement on the final hole.
After finding a greenside bunker, McIlroy chipped in to finish 12-under par for the week.
His remarkable shot on the 18th saw the Northern Irishman let out an iconic roar as he clambered out of the bunker.
Meanwhile, the grandstand crowd erupted in celebration as his ball rolled into the hole.
Following the victory, McIlroy admitted it had potentially been his most exciting moment on a golf course to that point.
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The then 22-year-old chipped in from a greenside bunker on the 18th hole in his final roundCredit: DP World Tour
Reflecting on the winning shot, he said: “I just hit a perfect bunker shot, and once it landed on the green, it never looked anywhere else.
“It’s the most excited, maybe, that I have ever been on a course. It was just incredible to see the ball drop and realise I had finally won.”
McIlroy at the Hong Kong Open
McIlroy was 22-years-old at the time, with his win coming just months after his maiden major victory.
He had won the US Open at Congressional just six months earlier in June 2011.
Meanwhile, he avenged an agonising defeat at the Hong Kong Open three years earlier.
McIlroy was involved in a three-man play-off in 2008 after finishing level on 15-under with Lin Wen-tang and Francesco Molinari.
Lin went on to clinch the title on the second hole at the expense of McIlroy.
He then finished two strokes behind Gregory Bourdy the following year.
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McIlroy claimed his winning shot was the ‘most excited’ he had ever been on a courseCredit: Getty
His win in 2011 was only the third DP World Tour win of McIlroy’s career at the time, with the 36-year-old now having 20 to his name.
And that tally could increase before the end of the year as McIlroy looks to cap off a memorable year.


