Rory McIlroy is back in Dubai, his happy hunting ground. A former Dubai resident who made his Dubai Desert Classic debut at the age of 16 in 2006, McIlroy went on to become one of the greatest golfers of all time.
A winner of six majors, the Northern Irishman completed a career Grand Slam earlier this year and also became the fourth player to defend the green jacket at Augusta, emulating Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
Among all the silverware he has collected since turning pro, trophies he has won in Dubai also hold a special place in his heart.
The 36-year-old has won four Dubai Desert Classic titles as well as three DP World Tour Championship trophies.
Now, as the 2026 edition of the DP World Tour Championship begins on Thursday, McIlroy will be eyeing history at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
A successful tournament will see him equal Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Race to Dubai titles.
McIlroy’s third-place finish at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship last week has kept his hopes alive of matching the Scottish icon’s record.
“I’m very excited to be back here, and yeah, very excited to be in contention for the eighth,” McIlroy told reporters on Tuesday.
“I made some ground up last week, maybe not as much as I wanted, but I felt like it was a step in the right direction.”
Just 533.93 points behind leader Eugenio Chacarra, the world number two can clinch the record-equalling Race to Dubai title if he finishes fourth and other results go in his favour.
But his record at Earth Course will give him plenty of confidence to pull off the title in style, rather than depending on other results.
“Getting back to a place where I played well and I had a lot of success, even last year in the play-off with Matt (Fitzpatrick), it’s been a course that’s been very good to me over the years, and I have a lot of experience on it and a lot of experience at the top end of the leaderboard. Experience going out in that final group on a Thursday,” he said.
“So yeah, excited to do it all over again, and you know, try to play well enough to give myself a real chance at the weekend.
“It’s certainly a lot more penal off the tee this year. The rough is very, very thick. You get a lot of bad lies in the rough. But as I say, I think when you come back to a golf course that you played a lot on and you’ve done well on, that always gives you a little bit of an advantage starting the week.”
McIlroy, who will be vying with eight other players for the coveted title, including Abu Dhabi champion Jon Rahm, has fond memories of winning the Race to Dubai title on Earth Course.
“I’ll always remember the first one pretty well because of how I did it,” he said. “I birdied the last five holes in a row, I think. Justin Rose was making a big push. He finished really well. So that was a cool way to win.
“Yeah, I mean, even I had a nice battle with Andy Sullivan in 2015. That was a cool day as well.
“And then the last few years… I played well much earlier in the year where I’ve maybe not had to play at my absolute best to get it done, and this week’s a little bit different.
“But I do go back to the first one. I think I was second in the Race to Dubai in 2009. And then I played pretty well in 10 and 11, not close enough to get it done, but to get that first one in 12, I’ll remember that.”
Now in his 20th season as an elite golfer, McIlroy’s heart swells with pride when he looks back on a journey defined by consistency and big tournament wins.
“Something that I’ve become increasingly proud of as my career has progressed is the consistency and the longevity of what I’ve been able to do over a 15-year period,” he said.
“I think this will be the 15th or 16th year in a row that I will have finished the year in the top ten in the World Rankings. There may be a couple others that have done that before. Yeah, I’m very proud of that. I think that’s maybe an underrated part of careers, that longevity piece.
“And look, I was very lucky to start so young and get my Tour card at 18, and I’ve stayed pretty much injury-free throughout my career. And I’ve kept working and trying to get better at certain aspects of the game and always tried to see weaknesses or be critical of myself and try to get better at them.
“I think that’s just a reoccurring process that I try to do each and every year. That approach has worked really well for me and hopefully will continue to work well for me for a few more years yet.”
Source: Khaleej Times