The DP World Tour brought the curtain down as it has done for the past four years, with the crowning of Rory McIlroy as the best player of the year. He now has seven, along with the 2012, 14 and 15 editions. He breaks the tie with Seve Ballesteros. Only Colin Montgomerie, the Scot who took over from the Spaniard in the 90s, has more. He won eight.
It was the culmination of the most special year in the career of the 36-year-old Northern Irishman, with the Masters as its pinnacle, the major he was missing and with which he completed the Grand Slam. It was not an extraordinarily prolific year, but there were some very significant victories. Everything he won had great significance: Pebble Beach, the jewel of California, on his return to the PGA Tour, The Players, Augusta, the Open in his country and the Ryder Cup. In addition, this week it was announced that an award bearing his name will go to the circuit golfer who performs best in the four majors.
The year just ended confirms Rory as the best European golfer of the first quarter of the century. In 17 seasons he has won 45 times. He started his account in Dubai, at the Desert Classic, in 2009, in the same emirate where he is now celebrating success. “I’m grateful to have been able to play with him. He’s a role model,” said Marco Penge, the Englishman who battled with him until the last tournament for the Race to Dubai and finished second.
His figure is universal. To all the aforementioned merits is added that he is associated with Tiger Woods in the simulator league, that he is referred to as the golfer who has resisted going to LIV Golf – it is rumored that he even had an offer of $1 billion – that, in addition, he builds bridges for golf to regain unity and that adorns it with the most plastic swing of all those seen in this era.
In times when the schism in golf has weakened the sport and in the absence of charisma of the world number one, Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy’s identity is growing. His figure transcends beyond his sport. The fact that he was the target of hatred from the American public gives dimension to his character. His love life and the fact that he takes a friend as a caddie in the bag, Harry Diamond, far from the experienced ones who usually accompany the stars has been his most criticized flank.
He is technically the paradigm of the modern golfer. He is in the top five in four of the six main statistics on the DP World Tour (stroke average, putting, driving distance, strokes gained on the course) and to his orderly play he adds a unique ability to resolve at key moments. He will surely also win the trophy for the best shot of the year with the second he gave on the last day of the Masters on the 15th hole, the par 5 of the lake. He is the king of golf.
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