Rory McIlroy ended the DP World Tour on a high note, winning the season-ending DP World Tour Championship by two shots.
The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai rankings competed in the lucrative finale at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course in Dubai. A massive prize pot of $10 million was available, and with no cut, the entire field was in contention to fight for the money over 72 holes.
Bonus payments will be awarded to the top 10 golfers in the final Race to Dubai standings. McIlroy maintained his composure to ultimately claim the honours and pocket an impressive $3m.
In fact, the top three took home more than half of the prize fund, with second-placed Rasmus Hojgaard earning $1.27m and $820,000 going to third place. But McIlroy wasn’t finished yet, as there was an additional $6 million available for the top 10 golfers in the Race to Dubai.
The Northern Irish golfer’s victory at Jumeirah earned him another $2m, bringing his final pay cheque to a staggering $5m. This also put him on par with the legendary Seve Ballesteros in winning the order of merit six times, reports Belfast Live.
McIlroy only needed a top-11 finish to reach the top of the season rankings – and after his closest competitor Thriston Lawrence finished in midfield, the title was secured before he had completed his final round at Jumeirah.
While the Irishman has enjoyed a whirlwind season on the DP tour, 2024 marks a ten-year drought for McIlroy in terms of major success. His last major win came in the form of the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and McIlroy looked incredibly close to ending his dry spell at the US Open earlier this year.
Despite being on track to win the competition at Pinehurst No.2, McIlroy missed crucial par putts on the 16th and 18th holes during the final round. This allowed Bryson DeChambeau to clinch his own second all-time major with a four-foot putt on the 18th to seal the deal.
