In golf, there are a few names who are always expected to win, regardless of where they play. First, it was Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. After that, Tiger Woods was predicted to win every time. Today, names like Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy have joined that list. However, the wins don’t always come easy, despite their skills. And McIlroy isn’t shy in admitting that.

The leaderboard at Yas Links has been lighting up with low scores, but McIlroy is finding it easy to keep pace in Abu Dhabi. After Round 3 of the $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, McIlroy sits low at T12 with a score of 14 under par. On the contrary, the current leader, Aaron Rai, hit 66-64-66 to finish with 20 under par on Saturday. When asked about the same, the World No. 2 said:

“It’s hard. You can keep your foot on the pedal, but then if it’s not quite happening, it’s hard to stay patient. That sort of got me today by going for the green on 14 and putting it in a bad spot and making bogey. Yeah, sometimes it is hard to stay patient when you’re seeing all the guys behind you, 5-under through nine, and sort of you’re trying to play catch up. It seems like to matter how well you play, they seem to keep making birdies.”

McIlroy’s performance has been nothing short of excellent, however, there are other players just ahead of him at the moment. The 2025 Masters champion fired rounds of 68-66-66. While he hit an opening round of 68, some of his 2025 Ryder Cup teammates, including Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, hit 8 under 64. The current leader, Aaron Rai, hit an opening round of 66, but his second round of 64 got him the lead.

To catch up to the speed of others, McIlroy took a risky gamble on the 14th hole in Round 3. He teed off with a 307-yard shot, which landed in the native area. And when he got it out of the native area, he ended up in the greenside bunker. The same thing occurred in Round 2 as well. He hit a 354-yard shot to end up in the native area. However, unlike the 3rd round, he didn’t get a bogey in Round 2 because his 2nd shot didn’t go in the bunker.

Rory McIlroy acknowledged that his game was not that poor after all. “Yeah, that’s the name of the game on this golf course. It sort of has been for the last few years. You’re going to have to shoot low scores to have a chance. I played okay, but not quite good enough to get myself right into contention this week,” McIlroy said. While the career grand-slam winner has conquered many golf courses in his career, Yas Links and the Abu Dhabi Championship have always presented a challenge to him.

The 5x major winner has made 13 appearances at the event. He has four runner-up and five third-place finishes. However, he has yet to win the event. “I’d love to get my hands on that Falcon Trophy,” McIlroy said before the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. While his win at the event is not completely out of the question, it will be extremely challenging for him to work his way to the top from here. Rai is 6 strokes ahead of McIlroy, and it’s not like he will play very badly in the last round. And even if he does, there are many others still ahead of the Northern Irish golfer.

While it is challenging for McIlroy to win the Falcon Trophy, he is still in contention to come close to the most Race to Dubai title wins after Colin Montgomerie.

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Rory McIlroy eyes 7th Race to Dubai title

Rory McIlroy has a strong chance of winning his seventh Race to Dubai title in 2025, a feat that would bring him one shy of Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight wins. Montgomerie has won the title in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2005. He dominated the DP World Tour from 1993 to 1999, winning 7 consecutive European Tour Order of Merit. He overtook Seve Ballesteros, who won 6 times in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1986, 1988, and 1991.

McIlroy tied Ballesteros in 2024. The career grand-slam winner won it in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Now, he has a chance to repeat the feat in 2025 and come one step closer to Colin Montgomerie’s record. McIlroy has 4,132.56 points. Next to him is Marco Penge, who has 3,691.24 points. In third place is Tyrrell Hatton with 2,866.08 points. At the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, Hatton is right with McIlroy. With 14 under par, he is also tied at 12th. Penge is 3 strokes behind the two. With rounds of 67-68-70, he is tied at 26.

This gives Rory McIlroy a good chance of maintaining his position going into the DP World Tour Championship. If he performs well in the season finale, he will claim his 7th Race to Dubai title this year.