One divot cost Rory McIlroy two shots at Yas Links on November 5, turning what should have been a double bogey into a quadruple bogey. Despite the costly mistake, he managed to finish third in Abu Dhabi. A week later, McIlroy was back in action at the DP World Tour Championship, opening with a 69 to keep his hopes of winning the Race to Dubai alive.
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At the Dubai press conference, McIlroy was asked what has kept him in the Race to Dubai for 14 years.
“I don’t know. I mean, I’ve never lost my enthusiasm for the game. This game can sort of beat you down at times and make you quite cynical, and I’ve never let it get to me like that, and I’ve seen maybe some others throughout the years where it has gotten to them a little bit. I’ve always tried to be grateful that I get to play this game for a living. And yeah, I think that gratitude and that enthusiasm to go to the golf course and compete every day, I’ve never lost that. And hopefully I never will lose that until I decide to hang ’em up,” McIlroy said.
Rory McIlroy inadvertently improved his lie in a divot at the 12th, and the penalty was assessed after the round. He spent about 15 minutes with the referee and his playing partners before accepting it. “I play by the rules,” McIlroy said, and he accepted the two shots.
Eugenio Chacarra, who was in the group, said afterward that he would have backed McIlroy if he had wanted to contest it. Later he singled out one moment from the round. He said of the double bogey, “When he made that double on 12, how he reacted,” and added that it was something he still doesn’t do.
Dubai set a harder test. McIlroy made five birdies and two bogeys for a 69 in tougher, windier conditions. That left him tied for third, two shots behind Joost Luiten, the last player in the field and 56th in the season rankings.
The round ended with a near-miss. An eagle putt on the 18th that would have moved him provisionally above Chacarra stopped just short. Chacarra opened with a level-par 72 and sits tied for 23rd.
Asked who he looked to as a young pro, McIlroy’s answer came from another sport. He named Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and said he is a big tennis fan who has learned from how each carried himself on court. He said Federer was a hothead early in his career but learned to turn that energy into something positive.
Rory McIlroy also said the mental side is a never-ending process and that he keeps working with his psychologist. That fits a player who has won the career Grand Slam and still describes self-control as ongoing work.
The young Spaniard has been honest about the pairing. He said it is hard to stop thinking about a playing partner’s game instead of focusing on what you can control. He also said he learned a lot from the round and will be better prepared.
He is not backing down. Chacarra has won three times this season, including the KLM Open and the Italian Open in June, and he reminded reporters he already beat McIlroy in India.
Chacarra leads the Race to Dubai by 533.93 points. McIlroy needs to finish at least fourth to keep a chance of passing him. A win outright would take the title, and a solo second could also work if Chacarra and Reed both finish third or worse.
The stakes for McIlroy are historic. A win would give him a joint-record eighth Order of Merit and a fifth in a row, plus a record fourth DP World Tour Championship title.
McIlroy’s answer suggests composure is something he works at rather than a gift. Three more rounds will show whether it pays off.