Rory McIlroy's full focus on 'just trying to win the golf tournament' with Race to Dubai title picture taking care of itself
Rory McIlroy insists his full focus remains on “just trying to win the golf tournament” and letting the Race to Dubai title picture take care of itself after finishing Friday’s second round sitting one shot behind DP World Tour Championship leader Antoine Rozner.
Northern Ireland ace McIlroy is now all but guaranteed to secure his sixth Race to Dubai crown – an accolade awarded to the DP World Tour’s top-ranked player at the end of each season which banks an extra $2million – with closest competitor Thriston Lawrence currently in tied-34th on level par across two rounds.
Even if Lawrence was to miraculously recover to win the season’s final tournament, finishing 11th or better would still be enough for McIlroy to draw level with Spanish sporting legend Seve Ballesteros on the list of all-time Harry Vardon Trophy winners and just two behind leader Colin Montgomerie.
While the expectation is that McIlroy will be celebrating at the Jumeirah Golf Estates on Sunday regardless of whether he lifts the DP World Tour Championship or not, the 35-year-old has his targets set on ending the season with a bang.
"I mean, at this point, I'm just trying to win the golf tournament, and if I win the golf tournament, then everything else that happens alongside that is nice,” he said. “Right now my focus is you know, I'd love to get my third title here at the Earth Course, and if I can do that, then yeah, everything else will be great.”
McIlroy combined five birdies with two bogeys to finish his second round with a three-under par 69, following up Thursday’s 67 to sit in a tie for second with Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton – both players are one shot behind Frenchman Rozner, who carded a flawless 65, which included seven birdies.
"It does (leave me sitting in a good position),” added McIlroy. “I’m a little disappointed that I didn't kick on after such a great start, four-under through seven.
"I just started to miss a few fairways around the turn and not by much either but the rough is so thick, and you lose all control of your golf ball if you hit it in there.
“Three holes in a row I hit it off a fairway and made two bogeys, eight, nine and 10. I steadied the ship a little bit but a couple of chances went by on 14 and 15.
“And then the last few holes, they are pretty difficult. It's hard, as well. One hard thing about being in the final couple of groups is the greens start to get a eight chewed up at the end of the day, especially with the low light you can see everything.
"Even though you can tap stuff down, it's still hard to trust it sometimes.
“I thought I hit my tee shot in the hazard on the last so it was nice to get up there and see it dry and up having a 20-footer for eagle. It was a nice way to finish and as you say, a good position going into the weekend right there.”