Last year, Rory McIlroy won the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai championship. It was the fifth season-long title, which the Northern Irishman secured on points following the Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa, coinciding with Max Homa’s first international victory. Well, looks like there is a high chance that he might continue reigning this year too. The ultimate battle of the European Tour is about to kick start with the 2024 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on November 7.

And while the top 70 players have already made it to the list, Rory McIlroy stands at a staggering first position on the standings. The 35-year-old might not have been able to capture any wins, but he has almost consistently been in the top ten. He appeared in ten tournaments of the DP World Tour and currently has 4,532.33 points. Following him is Thriston Lawrence, who has played in seventeen events, but still has been able to secure only 2,959.94 points. They have a difference of 1572.39.

This is so far the highest difference that has been there between the top two players in the standings in the last ten years. Additionally, he will also make another record if he bags a win at the Race to Dubai Championship for the sixth time this year. Tracking Rory, an X page that posts all things golf reported about the professional golfer grabbing a win for the third consecutive year, and as it turns out, “This would also be the sixth time in his career that he has gone on to win it. Only Colin Montgomerie (8) would then have more than Rory”. 

His spot has already been confirmed for the DP World Tour Championship, where he will be looking forward to tying with Seve Ballesteros’s record at the finale. But before he begins with the playoffs, how has his DP World Tour journey been this year?

Rory McIlroy’s unending misery

The golfer recorded eight top-five finishes this year, not including his two victories. Out of those eight top-10 placements, four were T2 finishes, with his most recent at the BMW PGA Championship and the Amgen Irish Open. He’s often referred to as the pro who is always on the verge of winning! This is how misfortune has been striking him.

He also has two wins on the PGA Tour this year, coming at the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry as well as the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow. The Northern Irishman has been on the top of the standings since January, and well, while he has all the chances of winning if his bad luck charm does not get over, he might as well lose the trophy by just a tiny margin, and that will be hurtful! What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section below!