It immediately became clear what a sixth Order of Merit title on the DP World Tour meant to Rory McIlroy on Sunday, with the Northern Irishman extremely emotional following the season finale in Dubai.
Rory McIlroy won both the Race to Dubai as well as the DP World Tour Championship. It was an ideal ending to what has been a turbulent season, on and off the course, for the 35-year-old.
His two-shot victory was his fourth win of the year worldwide. Meanwhile, he moved alongside Seve Ballesteros on six Order of Merit titles, with only Colin Montgomerie ahead of him now. It meant a huge deal for McIlroy to put himself alongside Ballesteros.
Many will have been surprised to have seen McIlroy in tears after his win. Ultimately, he has reached a level where he is mostly judged on how he performs in the majors. And he certainly has plenty of experience of winning the Harry Vardon Trophy now.
What matters to Rory McIlroy more than most players right now
But speaking on the Golf Channel Podcast, Rex Hoggard suggested that McIlroy gives much greater consideration to how he will be remembered than most of his peers. And thus, so many of his victories are incredibly significant to the four-time major champion.
“He gave himself a B which I thought was an interesting way for him to do that, because you can tell what’s important to him. Clearly, the majors are what matters to a player of that calibre, and so, I don’t know how much this improves his own outlook towards this season. Is it a B+ now? Probably, would be my guess,” he said.
“But if you’re looking big picture, and he’s really good at this, he talked about it earlier in the week, he likes the legacy. He likes the idea of being tied with Seve right now. He likes the idea, as you pointed out, of being mid 30s and having an opportunity to do something special, become the most winningest European player ever.
“Most players don’t think in that context. They stay in their shells, they’re not going to think, alright, what’s going to be my legacy as I get older? Rory has a very clear plan, and my guess is even though the majors are still what they are, and they’re still filled with disappointment, the US Open being the primary example; no, I think this probably improves his year dramatically.”
The legacy McIlroy is already working on leaving the game
McIlroy is going to be remembered as one of the greatest talents the golfing world has seen. Just five Europeans have won more majors than McIlroy – and he has the time to win several more before his spell at the top comes to an end.
He has also arguably been the player who has done more than anyone to fly the flag for both the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour since LIV Golf emerged onto the scene. McIlroy made his 27th start of the season at the DP World Tour Championship.
And whenever the next world-class superstar of European golf emerges, you could imagine that they will find themselves getting extremely emotional the day that they find themselves moving level with Rory McIlroy for Order of Merit titles.
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