Paul McGinley says one part of Rory McIlroy’s game was so much better at the DP World Tour Championship than it’s been all year

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Rory McIlroy will feel that he ended a trying 2024 in the best way possible as he clinched both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai titles on Sunday.

Rory McIlroy sealed his fourth victory of the year at the DP World Tour Championship. In the process, the Northern Irishman secured his sixth Order of Merit crown on the DP World Tour. Unsurprisingly, McIlroy was emotional after his victory as he drew level with Seve Ballesteros.

But it has not been a flawless year for the 35-year-old. Unfortunately, because of the standard he has set, many will look at the US Open loss as the biggest moment in his year. His wait for a major now extends past a decade. Meanwhile, it was surprising how little a factor he was at The Tour Championship.

McIlroy spoke of making changes to his swing ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship earlier this month. And it seems that those changes may be reaping rewards.

One part of Rory McIlroy’s game as good as it has been all season at the DP World Tour Championship

Stood on the fifth fairway with 137 yards to the pin during his final round, McIlroy set up another brilliant birdie chance. He had been nine feet away from the flag on average across the previous three holes. And speaking on Sky Sports (broadcast on 17/11; 8:49), Paul McGinley suggested that he had been so impressed by McIlroy’s approach game over the week.

“That’s brilliant from McIlroy again. We just saw the illustration on the graphic that came up – average nine feet so far on the three previous holes. And that’s another good shot there from McIlroy, well inside what tour average would be from there,” he said.

“So what we have seen this week that we haven’t seen all season from McIlroy is a big elevation and improvement in his iron play. That’s four holes in a row now with good iron shots from him.”

How McIlroy has shown signs of improvement in the last two events

There is certainly reason to think that McIlroy is going to be in contention to win another major in 2025. He has finished in the top 10 on 21 occasions in the 38 majors since his fourth triumph.

And it will definitely help if he can improve his iron game. He is 54th for strokes gained with his approach game on the PGA Tour this season. Meanwhile, he averaged 71.6 percent greens in regulation on the DP World Tour this year.

But that was up to 77.8 percent during the fourth round in Dubai. And a score of 69 was really not too bad at all, with Andy Sullivan posting the best round of the day with a 67.

Obviously, some will be reserving judgement until McIlroy returns to the cauldron that is major championships. But there are definitely some positive signs heading into next year.