Rory McIlroy further enhanced his reputation as one of the greatest talents golf has seen with his sixth Race to Dubai title on the DP World Tour at the weekend.
Rory McIlroy tied Seve Ballesteros’ tally with his latest Order of Merit triumph. Meanwhile, McIlroy is well placed to overtake Colin Montgomerie‘s record of eight before his career comes to an end.
In the wake of the win, Shane Lowry labelled McIlroy’s consistency an ‘absolute joke’, with McIlroy spending 122 weeks as the world number one across his career. Meanwhile, the 35-year-old has barely dropped out of the top 10 in the world since getting there for the first time in November 2009.
But which other players joined him in that particular top 10?
The top 10 in the world which included Rory McIlroy for the first time
10. Rory McIlroy
It seems incredible to say but the PGA Tour had not yet seen McIlroy win a title at this stage. He had won the Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour earlier in the year, but it would be another few months before he entered the big time at Quail Hollow.
9. Kenny Perry
Kenny Perry enjoyed a real renaissance towards the end of his PGA Tour career. He made his second Ryder Cup team at Valhalla in 2008, while he made a play-off at the 2009 Masters before losing to Angel Cabrera. He would win the FBR Open and Travelers Championship in 2009.
8. Sergio Garcia
Sergio Garcia was starting a slump which would last throughout 2010 – he missed the Ryder Cup for the first time in his career at Celtic Manor. He had not won on the PGA Tour since the 2008 Players Championship; a remarkable drought for a player of his ability.
7. Henrik Stenson
Henrik Stenson won the 2009 Players Championship, but his own decline was not far around the corner. He would fall out of the top 200 within a few years before finding his form again. The Swede would reach the world number two spot in 2014.
6. Padraig Harrington
Of course, the late 2000s were a golden period for Padraig Harrington as he won three major titles in two seasons. However, 2009 was actually the first time since the turn of the century that the Irishman had failed to win on either the PGA Tour or European Tour.
5. Paul Casey
Paul Casey won the Abu Dhabi Championship and the BMW PGA Championship, as well as the Shell Houston Open in early 2009. He actually missed much of the second-half of the season due to a rib injury.
4. Lee Westwood
Lee Westwood was the last European to win the Race to Dubai before McIlroy’s three in a row. He also won the Order of Merit in 2009. While he has not won a major, he did go on to reach world number one in 2010.
3. Steve Stricker
The highest ranked player who has not won a major, Steve Stricker won three times on the PGA Tour during the 2009 season. Meanwhile, he finished in a tie for sixth at The Masters – his best ever finish at Augusta National.
2. Phil Mickelson
Unsurprisingly, Phil Mickelson was in the world ranking position where he would spend so much of his career. It is remarkable that the six-time major champion never reached the top of the pile at any stage. He had won The Tour Championship for the second time in 2009.
1. Tiger Woods
Of course it is.
2009 was actually the first year since 2004 where Tiger Woods did not win a single major. It was also this month where revelations about Woods’ private life became public and he would subsequently not play again for several months.
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