Rory McIlroy boosted his chances of another Race to Dubai title after a superb final round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The Northern Irishman has just finished his penultimate DP World Tour event of the season, with McIlroy set to cut his schedule for 2025.
McIlroy finished T3 at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with the four-time major champion carding a superb eight-under 64 on Sunday.
It comes after rounds of 67, 67 and 69 from McIlroy, who finished his tournament at Yas Links on 21-under.
McIlroy suffered a nightmare end to his third round, having made a seven on the par-five 18th in Abu Dhabi.
What Rory McIlroy regrets about his Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
But he was able to recover in round four, with McIlroy ending the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship level with Thorbjorn Olesen and Matt Wallace.
He was, however, left ruining his more costly rounds at Yas Links, with McIlroy rightly believing his final round wasn’t enough to secure the win.
“Yeah, I think maybe one shy depending on what Tyrrell [Hatton] does here at the last,” he said on Sky Sports Golf before the tournament concluded.
READ MORE: Who is Rory McIlroy? A closer look at one of the greatest golfers of all time
“He hit a decent tee shot. Obviously if he makes four, then it’s been a good week and I’ll head to Dubai obviously in a good position going into next week.
“But yeah, I think the two finishes on Friday and Saturday, obviously left me with a bit of work to do, and if I do come up one short, I’ll obviously rue those two finishes on those two days.”
Paul Waring wins Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links
McIlroy wasn’t the only player to finish very strongly in Abu Dhabi, with Hatton also carding a final round 64 to move to 22-under.
But that wasn’t enough to lift the trophy, with Paul Waring beating his fellow Englishman by two shots to come out on top.
He fired a course-record 61 in his second round on his way to the title, with Waring’s final round 66 enough to narrowly edge out Hatton.
Wallace meanwhile ended his tournament with a superb nine-under 63, in what was the penultimate DP World Tour event of the season.
The top 50 players will now move on to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship, which takes place at Jumeirah Golf Estates next week.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
