Rory McIlroy Wins The Race To Dubai Title
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World number one Rory McIlroy secured the Race to Dubai title after finishing third at the Singapore Open and, in doing so, has emulated Luke Donald’s 2011 feat of capturing the European Tour and PGA Tour money list double.
The 23-year-old shot a closing 65 to move-up the final-round leaderboard, including a 30-foot eagle putt at the last to edge one shot ahead of Thomas Bjorn at 10-under-par at the Sentosa Club.
McIlroy became the youngest money-list winner since Sandy Lyle in 1980, on a weekend where 19-year-old Matteo Manassero also became the first teenager to win three European Tour titles.
The Italian won the event with an eagle at the third play-off hole, after Louis Oosthuizen had previously horse-shoed a four-footer for the title.
McIlroy has now won over £2.8m in the Race to Dubai and cannot be overhauled by the chasing pack that includes Peter Hanson and Justin Rose, despite two tournaments still remaining in this year’s calendar.
The Northern Irishman, who began his European Tour campaign with two top-five finishes in the Middle East and finished in the top three in his final two events, played down his feat and insisted: “The money list has been cheapened a little bit by not having the leading players at events towards the end of the year.
“It’s still an award for consistency and you need to play well throughout the year in all the tournaments you attend.
“I am going to end up playing 13 or 14 events on the European Tour this year. That’s obviously a lot less than a lot of other people but I have played in the bigger tournaments with the higher prize funds, which has allowed me to get to the top.”
Race to Dubai standings
Rory McIlroy £2.8m
Peter Hanson £2.11m
Justin Rose £2.05m
Louis Oosthuizen £2.03m
Ian Poulter £1.82m
