Rory McIlroy believed a 16- or 17-under could win. But the six-time major champion finished tied for second, with 15-under. He opened with a 3-under 69 before carding a 5-under 67 in the second round. McIlroy followed that with a 3-under 69 in the third round and closed with a 4-under 68. Even though it was one of his strongest performances of the season, the 37-year-old was left with some regrets.
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“I had my chances out there. I putted okay for the most part this week, but I missed a lot of putts. I feel over the weekend, or at least today,” he told reporters at Sunday’s press conference. “Wish I had some of those putts back, but I have to be encouraged with where my game is at. Hit the ball really well today. Hit the best I hit it during the course of the week and encouraged with the signs that my game is going and just have to keep working at it.”
McIlroy explained that he had a target score in mind after keeping an eye on the numbers being posted by the leaders. When he saw Aaron Rai, the recent winner of the Rory McIlroy Award, finish at 15-under without making birdie on the final hole, McIlroy felt that 16 or 17 under could give him a realistic chance to challenge for the title.
At 14-under through 14 holes, McIlroy was hoping to pick up a birdie on either the 15th or 16th. That would have taken him to 15-under heading into the final two par-5s, where he believed he had a good opportunity to add two more birdies and reach 17-under. A finish at that mark, he felt, could have put the leaders under pressure.
However, he failed to make the birdies he wanted on 15 or 16 and then also missed the opportunity to birdie the last, saying he “didn’t hit a very good putt.” As a result, he finished at 15-under instead of the 16- or 17-under score he had envisioned. Despite that missed opportunity, he felt that “Overall, it’s been a positive.”
It’s more than a positive result, looking at the Race to Dubai standings. McIlroy earned 532 points for his tied-second finish at the BMW PGA Championship, taking his season total to 3,115.86 points. He now sits just 307.76 points behind leader Patrick Reed, who has 3,423.62. Notably, Reed was forced to withdraw during the second round after suffering a hand injury.
This means McIlroy failed to take advantage of the opportunity to surpass Reed. Had he finished solo-second, it would have pushed the Northern Irishman over Reed, but that didn’t happen. Regardless, with the gap to the top now significantly narrowed, McIlroy admitted he is “excited” about his chances of reclaiming the lead.
“I have three events until the end of my DP World Tour season,” he added. “I’m not sure what Patrick’s schedule looks like coming up, but I feel like I have enough opportunities. And I’m going back to the golf course in India that I played for the first time last year, so I’ll know it a little bit better, and then going to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where I had a lot of success in my career.
“Excited for the opportunity, and it would obviously be amazing to match Monty’s record.”
McIlroy may not have been able to replicate his 2014 success at the BMW PGA Championship, but matching Colin Montgomerie’s Race to Dubai record appears to remain firmly on his mind. Montgomerie holds the record with eight season-long titles, while McIlroy currently has seven. However, the Northern Irishman cannot afford to relax just yet.
McIlroy may have only three more events on his schedule, while Patrick Reed is expected to play in two. However, Reed could theoretically add more tournaments to his schedule in an effort to maintain his lead. McIlroy could, though, benefit from the hand injury that forced Reed to withdraw from the BMW PGA Championship, as it could affect both his upcoming schedule and his performance.
Still, Reed has previously revealed he wouldn’t mind making the World No. 2 wait.
Patrick Reed wants to prevent Rory McIlroy from making history
While McIlroy is chasing ‘Monty’s record, Reed remains at the top of the standings. That’s thanks to victories at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Qatar Masters, along with strong finishes at the Masters and PGA Championship. A Race to Dubai victory would also give Reed a chance to make history himself as only the second American to win the title after Collin Morikawa in 2022.
“It would mean a lot,” Reed said. “I’ve always prided myself as being an American that consistently comes over and shows support to this tour. But to also be able to go ahead, Race to Dubai, a win would mean a lot.”
“It’s definitely in the back of my mind, but at the end of the day, just go out there and take care of business each and every day. And hopefully we play late enough on Sundays coming in that we’re able to kind of cap that off at the end.”
But sadly, Reed’s exit from the BMW PGA Championship, which had a $9 million prize pool, has made it much easier for Rory McIlroy to catch up to him. But as they say, the race is not over until someone crosses the finish line.