The LIV Golf star who is ahead of Rory McIlroy for strokes gained on the DP World Tour this season

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Ahead of the season finale on the DP World Tour, Rory McIlroy is on pole position to seal yet another Order of Merit title, with only Thriston Lawrence able to stop him in Dubai.

It has been a positive period of the season for Rory McIlroy, who came second at both the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship. And his reward looks set to be a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy during his career ahead of the DP World Tour Championship.

Of course, with the game now incredibly fractured, it is harder to definitively say which players have really shone on the DP World Tour this year. But ahead of the final event of the year, here is a look at the top five players on the European circuit when it comes to strokes gained.

The top five players on the DP World Tour for strokes gained this season

5. Billy Horschel (+1.86 per round)

Billy Horschel has had another hugely impressive year after travelling across the pond. The American is fourth in the Race to Dubai standings following his dramatic win at the BMW PGA Championship in which he beat Rory McIlroy in a play-off.

After an agonising omission from the Presidents Cup team, Horschel will surely have his sights set on a Ryder Cup debut at Bethpage Black next year.

4. Tyrrell Hatton (+1.97 per round)

It may perhaps surprise some that Tyrrell Hatton finds himself as low as fourth on this list. He finished second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, while Hatton won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for a record third time.

Hatton now sits at the top of the qualification standings for the Ryder Cup. It seems impossible to imagine Luke Donald not making sure the 33-year-old is on his team in New York, one way or another.

3. Tommy Fleetwood (+2.03 per round)

It may disappoint Tommy Fleetwood that the high point of his year on the DP World Tour came all the way back in January when he won the Dubai Invitational ahead of Thriston Lawrence and Rory McIlroy.

He did however, win an Olympic silver medal at Le Golf National. And he finished tied for third at The Masters. But that first win on the PGA Tour eludes him still.

2. Rory McIlroy (+2.59 per round)

Of course, McIlroy’s year will be best remembered for what happened at the US Open, but he still managed to win three times, and he has finished second on a number of occasions. His consistency on the DP World Tour is something else, with The Open Championship being the only time he has finished outside the top 25 all year.

1. Jon Rahm (+2.87 per round)

Obviously, no-one needed to tell the DP World Tour what a blow it would be to lose Jon Rahm to LIV Golf. He has still made a handful of appearances this year, with his worst finish in a DP World Tour event being a tie for seventh. He will be disappointed that he failed to win the Open de Espana, but he has ticked the boxes required to ensure that he will probably be in Europe’s Ryder Cup team next year.