Rory McIlroy gazed into his crystal ball and predicted US President-elect Donald Trump could help “clear the way” for a peace deal in golf’s civil war.
But when it comes to the destiny of the Race to Dubai title, the Holywood star (pictured above by Getty Images) is such a racing certainty to match Seve Ballesteros by raising the Harry Vardon Trophy for the sixth time that he will be making no apology for turning next week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship into a procession.
With 1,500 Race to Dubai points on offer for the winner at Yas Links and a 1,572-point lead over his nearest rival Thriston Lawrence, McIlroy hopes to wrap things up with a win this week and focus on matching Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Vardon Trophy wins.
“… if I go out and win this week, obviously, it makes it a bit boring next week,” McIlroy said unapologetically. “But I won’t find it boring; it will be lovely.”
Playing for his legacy in the game, his next goal is to add to his major haul.
“I would like to go down as the most successful European of all time,” said McIlroy, who has spent his month off doing overdue work on his swing.
“Obviously Race to Dubai wins would count to that but also major championships and hopefully I’ve got a few more Ryder Cups ahead of me as well.”
As for golf’s civil, McIlroy believes Trump’s election and his alliance with X-owner Elon Musk could speed up talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s PIF.
Confessing he would be surprised if weekend newspaper reports claiming a deal had been done turned out to be true, he admitted the President-elect’s claim he could secure a deal in 15 minutes gives him cause for optimism.
“Yeah, I would (be surprised if a deal was already done), but then obviously given today’s news with what’s happened in America, I think that clears the way a little bit. So we’ll see,” McIlroy said of Trump’s ability to remove obstacles to a deal.
“He might be able to,” McIlroy later told Sky Sports. “He’s got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him. We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too.
“Yeah, I think from the outside looking in, it’s probably a little less complicated than it actually is. But obviously Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He’s got a great relationship with golf. He’s a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows?”
It’s a big week too for Tom McKibbin, who is 11th in the race for 10 PGA Tour cards, and for Shane Lowry, who was only reunited with his clubs on Tuesday.
“I was panicking yesterday,” joked Lowry, who won at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2019 and made the final group at Yas Links for the past two years only to shoot rounds of 77 and 76 to finish 12th and 28th. “If I can do something similar to that this year and finish the tournament off better, you never know.”
Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, heads into the season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship at Phoenix Country Club today knowing he’s one of six players, along with points leader Ernie Els, who can take the season-long money title with a win.
“If we win outright, we win it outright, nobody can interfere, which is tough for Ernie,” said Harrington, who is joined in Arizona by Darren Clarke. “Ernie’s had a great year, he’s No. 1. I won’t say he hasn’t got rewarded, but he needs to win as well this week. He’s not going to get away with not winning.”