Rory McIlroy has been crowned the Race to Dubai Champion for a third successive season, after winning the 2024 DP World Tour Championship on Sunday afternoon.
Following his ultimately comfortable victory at the last hurdle in Dubai, McIlroy shared a heartwarming moment with his family after what he coined a 'difficult year, personally and professionally'
The third successive Race to Dubai win brings McIlroy's total tally up to six, leaving him level with European golf legend Seve Ballesteros.
Having recorded four runner-up positions and a win at the Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy entered the final tournament of the season with a healthy lead atop the Race to Dubai standings, but still needed a relatively strong performance to see off his closest challenger Thriston Lawrence who was 1,785 points behind him.
Leaving nothing to chance, McIlroy delivered a more than strong performance, claiming a two-shot victory at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, to claim both the weekend's DP World Tour Championship and the season-long Race to Dubai Championship.
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Emotional McIlroy shares lovely moment with family after Dubai win
At the conclusion of a 'difficult' year for McIlroy that saw him narrowly miss out on claiming another US Open and a potential divorce with his wife Erica Stroll, the Co. Down native shared a lovely moment with both Stroll and his daughter Poppy.
The moment which was captured by Sky Sports sees McIlroy greeted by a huge hug from his daughter after claiming victory in the Desert.
Rory celebrating with his family ❤️ pic.twitter.com/thQe9qoqhw
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) November 17, 2024
Speaking after the result, the speechless four-time major champion recalled just how difficult the year had been for him, telling Sky Sports the win was the fitting end to the year.
It means a lot, I've been through a lot this year, professionally, personally and it feels like the fitting end to 2024, I've persevered this year a lot, had close calls wasn't able to get it done so to be able to get over the line...really pleased with the way I finished and thankfully I held on a tough day and got the job done.
"I've been through a lot this year. Professionally and personally. It feels like a fitting end to 2024."
Rory McIlroy after winning the DP World Tour Championship: pic.twitter.com/RQxChnOzrX— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) November 17, 2024
While Thriston Lawrence's fall-off cleared the way for McIlroy's success in the Race to Dubai, he received quite the chase from Rasmus Hojgaard and Irishman Shane Lowry who finished second and third over this weekend's four rounds of golf.
The Offaly native who is also close family friends with Rory, recorded rounds of 71,67,71 and 68 to finish joint third, four shots behind McIlroy on eleven under par.
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