As another season moves towards its conclusion this week, Rory McIlroy on Wednesday adopted the familiar position of balancing some level of satisfaction with candid regrets over what might have been.
By his reckoning here in Dubai, where he will commence his challenge for the DP World Tour Championship on Thursday, the 17th campaign of his professional career would be graded at ‘probably a B’.
That encompasses his three wins and the distinct likelihood of a sixth order of merit title going his way this weekend, thus tying Seve Ballesteros in the historical standings, and yet the world No 3 remains taunted by thoughts of his implosion at the US Open in the summer.
One can reasonably assume the nightmares of those two missed putts at Pinehurst will eat away at him until he finally ends his 10-year wait for a fifth major. But there is a worthwhile perspective to be found in recognising that only Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau signed for a more productive 2024 on the course.
McIlroy, for his part, has been left in the common position of hoping his self-designated ‘nearly man’ will be disposed of via a breakthrough in the majors of a new year.
Rory McIlroy is in Dubai for what he hopes will be a successful DP World Tour Championship
As the 17th professional campaign of his career comes to an end, McIlroy will have some level of satisfaction with what he achieved, alongside candid regrets over what might have been
McIlroy’s nightmare on the final few holes at the US Open is likely to still eat away at him
Asked about his season, he said: ‘Yeah, incredibly consistent again. But then at the same time, you know, I’m thinking about the ones that got away.
‘I could be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I am not. So that stings and that’s something that I have to come to terms with but at the same time I’ve got plenty more opportunities in the future.
‘I try to focus on the positives this year of consistently performing at the highest level – still having three wins with an opportunity to get a fourth here this week, to win another Race to Dubai title.
‘Did I achieve every goal I set for myself this year? Probably not. But I still consider it a successful season. You’ve got two guys at the top of the world rankings (Scheffler and Schauffele) winning majors. They certainly separated themselves from the pack this year.
‘I’m obviously very aware of that, and it only makes me more motivated to try to emulate what they did this year. For my year (as a grade) it would be a pass. It wouldn’t be a pass with playing colours. Probably a B.’
There would be no harm in a glossy finish in Dubai, if only to end a streak that has seen him return two second-place finishes and one third in his past four starts since the close of the PGA Tour season.
McIlroy insisted he was trying to focus on the positives and highlighted his consistency
The Northern Irishman did go onto admit that he didn’t quite achieve all of his goals this year
However, McIlroy’s lead in the order of merit standings is so vast that he is pretty much guaranteed to at least equal the legendary Seve Ballesteros’s haul of six
One prize seems probable on this trip, with his lead in the order of merit standings so vast that he is guaranteed to equal Ballesteros’s haul if Thriston Lawrence fails to win the tournament here. Even if the South African does pull it off, a top-11 result from McIlroy, 35, would secure the Harry Vardon Trophy for a sixth time and a third in a row.
McIlroy, who has long targeted Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight, said: ‘My goal this week is to win both titles, to not to have anyone with me on the 18th green.
‘Seve is to European golf is what Arnold Palmer was to golf in America, and I think that’s what a lot of people gravitated towards.
‘He was not a mythical character to me – he was just a little bit before my time. But he was my dad’s favourite player, and the immense impact he had on European golf means a lot to the overall game. To draw level with him and to have a career that can sort of somewhat stack up against his is very cool.’
