Rory McIlroy Finishes Season in Style

On the course, McIlroy, who has not won a major in 10 years, was on the cusp of his fifth major victory and second U.S. Open win and saw it all disappear on Sunday on the back nine at Pinehurst.

“I'm going to look back on 2024, and I'm going to have four wins, three individual ones, two in Dubai, Quail Hollow, and the win with Shane at the Zurich Classic,” McIlroy said after his two-shot win over Dane Rasmus Hojgaard. “But I know that my 2024 is going to be defined, at least by others, by the tournaments that I didn't win as much as the tournaments that I did.”

Starting on Sunday, tied with Frenchman Antoine Rozner and Hojgaard, McIlroy put a quick blemish on the card with a bogey five on the first hole after missing the green on his approach and not getting the ball to the putting surface on the chip.

With Rozner’s birdie, McIlroy was two back, but that changed quickly as the 35-year-old birdied the next four holes and moved from two back to two ahead of Rozner and three clear of Hojgaard.

From there, McIlroy never looked back, winning his sixth Race to Dubai title, equaling Seve Ballesteros and two back of Colin Montgomerie.

“This was an incredibly meaningful day for me to get over the line to win my last event of the season,” McIlroy said. “It's been a long year. This is my 27th event of the year, and you know, to dig deep when I have had to, especially the last three holes, the swings on 16, the swing on 17, and the two swings on the last, if I look back on this week, that's what I'm going to remember, and that's what I'm going to take with me going forward.”