Rory McIlroy (T-3) wants to pull off FedExCup, Race to Dubai ‘double’

After winning the PGA Tour’s season-long title, Rory McIlroy wants more. 

The Northern Irishman overtook world No. 1, Scottie Scheffler, at East Lake for the FedExCup crown and $18 million. Now, he finds himself across the pond at the BMW PGA Championship — the DP World Tour’s flagship event — sitting T-3, one stroke off the lead at 11 under, after closing his round with consecutive birdies on Saturday. 

McIlroy is currently first in The Race to Dubai (formerly known as the Order of Merit) standings. And winning at Wentworth would certainly increase the world No. 3’s chances of becoming the second-ever player to win the FedExCup and Race to Dubai in the same year — Henrik Stenson did it in 2013. 

“It would be great to win (The Race to Dubai) for the fourth time,” McIlroy said after a third-round 65, “and I didn’t want to let up. I think if I can play well from now to the end of the year, I keep the momentum that I’ve built going into 2023; and yeah, I’ve got a great chance tomorrow to win this prestigious event but also to extend the lead in The Race to Dubai, and then we’ll go to Italy and try and do it all over again.”

Full-field scores from the BMW PGA Championship

Next week, McIlroy will play the Italian Open at Marco Simone GC, the site of next year’s Ryder Cup. 

A few more good weeks on the DP World Tour would not only help his quest for another Race to Dubai title, but it would also serve as revenge for last year’s blunder. 

McIlroy entered the final round in Dubai with a one-stroke lead, but shot a final-round 74 — which included a disastrous break on No. 15 when his pitch shot hit the flagstick and bounced into the sand trap en route to a bogey — and finished T-6. Afterward, the four-time major champion ripped his shirt in frustration. 

Though he went on to win the FedExCup less than a later, the 33-year-old, again, has his sights set on the DP World Tour’s biggest prize. 

“I gave myself a couple of days off from East Lake but my attention quickly turned to not just this event but the rest of the season,” he said, “and I’m keeping myself quite busy over the next couple of months. I want to finish the year off on a high. I finished the season in the States off on a real high, and I want to do the same over here. I want to try to get that FedExCup and Race to Dubai double.

“So a good day tomorrow would put me well on my way to doing that.”