A Ryder Cup victory for Europe at Marco Simone in September will be long remembered without prompting for those involved in the triumph. But just in case anyone on the losing side might be starting to get over the disappointment of a 16½-11½ defeat, well Luke Donald was here with a reminder, courtesy of the DP World Tour social media team.

Do you hear what I hear? ?@LukeDonald | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/EeRhvkZtiD

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) December 23, 2023

There’s something exquisite in the simplicity of this wondering message/troll. After polishing replica Ryder Cup trophies, Donald hears the famous cheers that rang throughout Marco Simone, capped by the call for two more years. The Englishman is excited to do that, having already been named a returning captain for the European side that will compete at Bethpage Black in 2025.

Donald wasn’t done with the Ryder Cup look back. On Christmas Day, he had another post to share with followers and make sure everyone once more got to appreciate how meaningful the victory at Marco Simone was for him and his family.

Merry Christmas from the Donalds ?? pic.twitter.com/dheIQV7Ubu

— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) December 25, 2023

Something tells us that there is any article of clothing, desk accessory, etc., that has the Ryder Cup logo or trophy on it, the Donald family owns it. 

Main image: Richard Heathcote

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The South African entered round four at Heritage La Réserve Golf Club with a one-shot lead but soon saw that disappear as playing partner Jacques P de Villiers, England’s Laurie Canter and the charging Sebastian Söderberg all staked a claim.

.@Louis57TM wins back-to-back events for the first time in his career ?#AfrAsiaBankMauritiusOpen pic.twitter.com/IdswcFcXUq

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 17, 2023

It was nip and tuck over a dramatic back nine in the Indian Ocean but in the end Oosthuizen’s 69 was enough to hand him a two-shot victory over Canter at 17 under.

South African de Villiers, Swede Söderberg – who carded the lowest round of the day with a 63 – and England’s Daniel Brown finished at 14 under, one clear of South Africa’s Jayden Schaper.

Oosthuizen’s victory also saw Min Woo Lee crowned the winner of the Opening Swing, handing the Australian US$200,000 and a place in the second part of the DP World Tour season – the Back 9.

The triumph at the weather-delayed Alfred Dunhill Championship last time out was Oosthuizen’s first for five years but he now has two in six days, with this week’s coming over a course he co-designed with Peter Matkovich.

“Golf is the strangest thing,” he said. “The last five weeks I’ve not done a lot with golf, I’ve played a few rounds and when I got to Leopard Creek I was working on a small little thing. I started hitting it really good and I know I’m putting well and then I just carried on with that momentum.

“I started off very poorly and that errant second shot on 16 made it interesting but I hit a few good shots coming in… I’m glad I held onto it.

“I’m glad I could pull this off this week, it’s sort of a dream come true being able to play a tournament on a golf course you helped design and end up winning it.

“This is the first event my daughters have been to where I won, this is very special.”

Both Oosthuizen and De Villiers dropped shots after missing the green at the fourth and there was a two-shot swing on the par-five next as Oosthuizen needed a drop off the tee and De Villiers got up and down for birdie.

Canter had made a two-putt birdie on the par five and he followed it with another gain from eight feet on the driveable sixth but De Villiers made an excellent up-and-down after finding a tricky spot off the tee on the same hole to lead alone.

Oosthuizen also took advantage of the short par four despite finding sand off the tee, with an excellent pitch at the par-five eighth helping him move back into a share of top spot.

The 41-year-old then holed a very long putt at the tenth to lead alone and both he and De Villiers made two-putt birdies on the par-five 12th before the latter got back into a share following a brilliant second after missing the green at the driveable par-four 13th.

Canter had done well to save par after missing the green at the ninth and tenth and he kept himself right in the mix, making two putts from the fringe on the 12th and driving the 13th to be just one shot back.

De Villiers joined him at 15 under after a three-putt on the 15th and Oosthuizen was two ahead when a beautiful pitch on the same hole spun back to tap-in range.

The lead was cut to one after a ragged Oosthuizen tee-shot and second at the 16th and De Villiers’ chance was gone after missing the green at the par-three 17th.

Canter could not take advantage of the par-five 18th as he signed for a bogey-free 68 to hand Oosthuizen a one-shot lead coming down the last and a two-putt birdie extended the winning margin, with De Villiers making par for a 71.

Söderberg twice held the lead and set the clubhouse target earlier in the day before the later groups edged clear, recovering from an opening bogey with ten birdies as he came home in 29.

Brown was bogey-free in his 65, making birdies on the fifth, seventh, 12th, 13th, 15th, 17th and last.

Schaper sandwiched five birdies with bogeys on the fourth and 17th in his 69 to finish a shot ahead of countrymen Thomas Aiken, Lyle Rowe and Darren Fichardt and two clear of American John Catlin.

Image: DP World Tour X / Twitter

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“This is one of the tournaments that I’ve always wanted to win,” said Oosthuizen, who completed 11 holes of his final round on Monday.

“It took me a while. It’s always a great place coming back to. I wouldn’t say 18 was kind to me this time, but I managed it a little bit, maybe not on the last hole there but I got it through.

“I feel very calm now. Rupes put a text this morning that said whoever plays 18 thinking the best is going to win. I just got on that tee shot and wanted to hit a seven wood but with all the rain it felt like it was so wet while we were standing I thought I’m just going to hit my driver down the left and obviously made a bad swing.

“The golf course was unbelievable. I can’t believe we got a fourth round in with everything we got. It’s such a great place to come to, and this is a tournament that I really really wanted.

“I had a good run there through 13 to 15 and I’m glad to see Charl with all the things he was going through with his shoulder with injuries that he’s playing well and I just got lucky on this one.”

After threat of lightning and heavy rain meant the final group could complete just seven holes on day four, the final group returned to the eighth fairway on Monday morning just after at 9am local time to resume their final rounds.

Tied at the top with Schwartzel on 16 under par, Oosthuizen almost immediately gained an advantage due to an expert up and down as the four-time champion hit a wayward approach into the trees and had to scramble for an opening bogey to drop one behind.

After trading pars at the ninth and three-putts for bogey at ten, both men responded with a birdie at the 11th: After Oosthuizen spun his wedge shot back beautifully past the pin to set up his birdie, Schwartzel sunk his own gain with a putt from off the green.

A second long putt in as many holes saw Schwartzel briefly climb back alongside the leader, but from there it was Oosthuizen who pulled ahead. With long putts of his own for back-to-back birdies at 13 and 14, he then hit another excellent wedge shot at the 15th to help seal a three-shot advantage with three to play.

While it initially seemed a comfortable advantage, there was still drama to be had. A mistake at the par four 17th saw the leader’s par save slide by the hole to reduce his lead to two, and his tee shot at the 18th hit a tree and found its way into the stream that separates the 18th and ninth holes at Leopard Creek Golf Club.

It opened the door for Schwartzel to attempt to force a playoff, but his second shot to the par five only narrowly missed the water at the side of the green, and his wedge shot wasn’t much closer than Oosthuizen’s fourth. There was still a chance for him, but Oosthuizen closed that door with his winning putt, and Schwartzel missed his birdie chance to finish the hole on the same score they started, securing his fifth runner-up finish in this tournament.

Fellow playing partner Bezuidenhout had originally started the final round five strokes back but birdied three of his first five to enter Monday’s completion just three behind, but played the remaining holes in one under to finish in solo third on 14 under par.

Four shots behind him were Challenge Tour Road to Mallorca Rankings winner Marco Penge, German Matt Schmid and Frenchman Darius Van Driel on ten under, with a group of four further players rounding out the top ten on nine under – which included Jayden Schaper, whose tie for seventh is a third consecutive top ten in the Opening Swing.

Main Image: Luke Walker Getty Images

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In a memo sent by the tour’s policy board to membership Sunday, and later published on the tour’s website, the tour said discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund remain ongoing while asserting the DP World Tour will continue to be a part of the new for-profit venture, PGA Tour Enterprises.

“Please know that while we can’t get into more details at this time, we are very confident in an eventual, positive outcome for all players and the PGA Tour as a whole,” the board wrote.

SGS is a collective of several investors and firms, fronted by the Fenway Sports Group. The sports conglomerate owns the Boston Red Sox, the Pittsburgh Penguins, Liverpool FC, and a NASCAR racing team. The group also has Fenway Park and the New England Sports Network under its umbrella.

Other members of SGS include Arthur Blank owner of the Atlanta Falcons), Wyc Grousbeck (Boston Celtics), Marc Lasry (Milwaukee Bucks), Tom Ricketts (Chicago Cubs), Cohen Private Ventures (New York Mets) and HighPost Capital. Many of the aforementioned names have an ownership stake in TGL, the Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy mixed-reality circuit that was set to launch in 2024, but was pushed back a year when its facility suffered damage in a storm last month.

The memo to players noted that the policy board had unanimously agreed to continue talks with the SSG after a series of meetings over the past several days to “thoroughly review, discuss and debate the extremely strong proposals submitted by a final set of outside investors.” Published reports had said that three private equity groups previously remained in the mix: Fenway Sports Group, Acorn Growth Cos. and Liberty Media Corp.

The memo comes as the December 31 deadline nears for the PGA Tour and PIF to finalize their framework agreement, although the two parties can agree to push the deadline back. It remains unclear if the private equity backing is an alternative to PIF money, or if it will be used to supplement the deal in order to appease government antitrust regulations.

Sources tell Golf Digest that PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan and PIF governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan are scheduled to meet face-to-face this week after a meeting planned for last week was postponed.

Adding to the ambiguity is the recent defection of Jon Rahm to LIV Golf (which is financially backed by PIF), a move that some believe could accelerate a PGA Tour-PIF deal, while others think Rahm’s signing could renew professional golf’s civil war. Rahm was the first PGA Tour player to jump to LIV Golf in nearly a year. Speculation is that other players might follow in the coming days as the PIF looks to increase its leverage in the negotiations with the PGA Tour.

Main image: Fenway Sports Group’s John Henry and Tom Werner are among several pro sports owners of the Strategic Sports Group. Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox

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The performance comes on the heels of Burmester winning a week earlier at the Joburg Open. Winning back-to-back titles is a career first for the 34-year-old. In turn he also is the first player from the LIV Golf League to win two DP World Tour titles after jumping to the rival circuit; both events are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour, with Burmester exempt because of his national status.

Making Burmester’s performance even more impressive was his physical state during Friday’s second round. Burmester says he woke up feeling sick.

“I woke up Friday and some 24-hour tummy bug or virus or something [hit me],” Burmester said. “I was throwing up on the golf course.”

Mid-way through the round, Burmester’s caddie even asked him if he might consider withdrawing, given his prospects for making the cut looked bleak. “He said, ‘You’ve got to watch your health. We’ve still got next week [Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in South Africa]. What do you want to do?’ And I said I just need to get through today. That’s all I’ve got to do. I couldn’t look down and hit a putt I was so dizzy. But managed to get a two over par with 36 putts.”

It was good enough to get to the weekend, when he was feeling better and ready to make a run at his fourth career DP World Tour title and a tournament that has a special place in his heart.

“It’s obviously for the South Africans one of the ones you always want to win,” Burmester said. “At this stage to be involved in this tournament and to win it, it’s pretty special.

Main Image: Luke Walker

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Travel down to Australia, play its two biggest tournaments, which are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, and secure enough Official World Golf Rankings points to climb almost 40 places and enter the top 50 by December 31 who are invited to the 2024 Masters.

It almost worked out.

After a fifth place at last week’s Australian PGA, Niemann jumped from World No. 87 to 82. On Sunday, he won the ISPS HANDA Australian Open in stunning fashion at The Australian Golf Club to give his quest a ray of hope. The Australian Open field included major winners like Cameron Smith and Adam Scott, as well as DP World Tour stars like Adrian Meronk, Min Woo Lee and Ryder Cup hero Bob MacIntyre.

Niemann, from Chile, was tied in regulation in Sydney at 14 under par (271) with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino. After both made birdie on the first trip down the par-5 18th, Niemann fired his second shot to six feet on the second playoff hole and made the eagle putt to defeat Hoshino, who made birdie from a greenside bunker. It was Niemann’s first big victory since joining LIV last fall and since capturing the 2022 Genesis Invitational at Riviera.

An eagle on the second play-off hole sealed the win for @joaconiemann ? #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/VFnCcr620L

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 3, 2023

“It means a lot,” Niemann said. “I wanted to win so bad for a long time.”

Overnight leader Lee was third at 12 under, while Adam Scott was among three players tied fourth at 11 under.

The Australian Women’s Open, played concurrently with the men’s event, was won by South Africa’s Ashleigh Buhai, who successful defended her title by beating Min Woo Lee’s older sister, Minjee Lee, by a stroke.

The OWGR projections were made in the moments after Niemann’s win, and he is expected to move to No. 59. Even with playing in his native Chile Open next week, Niemann is unlikely to secure an invitation to the 2024 Masters before the year is out.

Impressive eagle finish from @joaconiemann down under to win the #AusOpen!!
He is projected to jump to #59 in the #OWGR! Not enough to get him in the top 50 at the end of the year. Will have to earn more points from somewhere before the next March deadline for #TheMasters… https://t.co/Ju1mVihpR3

— Nosferatu (@VC606) December 3, 2023

“Not even winning both tournaments would have been enough to get into the top 50 and the majors,” Niemann said. “But the Australian Open such a good tournament, so it was easy to make my decision to come here and play some golf. This means a lot.”

The silver lining to Niemann’s victory was the Australian Open awards three spots in the Open Championship each year courtesy of being part of the R&A’s Open qualifying series. The top three on the leaderboard in Sydney (not already exempt) secured starts at the 152nd Open at Royal Troon next year. They were Niemann, Hoshino and Scott.

“I’m still not sure how I’ll play all the majors [in 2024] but at least I know for sure I’m in the Open, which is nice,” Niemann said.

Ashleigh Buhai held of Australia’s Minjee Lee to repeat as the winner of the Women’s ISPS HANDA Australian Open, played concurrently with the men’s championship at The Australian Golf Course – Mark Metcalfe

Niemann was ranked No. 19 on the Official World Golf Rankings when he joined LIV last September. This year, Niemann spent most of the year inside the OWGR top 50, and played in all four majors. His best results were a T16 at the Masters and T23 at the U.S. Open.

But due to the 54-hole, no-cut league not receiving world ranking points, the former two-time PGA Tour winner’s ranking began to blow out from July onwards.

Niemann will still have opportunities in early 2024 to crack the OWGR top 50. But they will have to be extracurricular Asian Tour events outside LIV, which start in Mexico in late January. The Asian Tour has a partnership with LIV Golf and does receive OWGR points.

“Yeah, it is unfortunate, I think I should be playing those tournaments,” Niemann said of the majors. “I know I have the game to win one of the majors. It is what it is; I took this challenge [joining LIV] knowing that I was not going to be [assured of playing] in the majors, so I was going to go out there and try to [earn] my spot. That was my mentality of coming to Australia.”

The consolation, for now at least, was Niemann etched his name onto the Australian Open’s trophy, the Stonehaven Cup. The 119-year-old championship’s past winners include Jordan Spieth, who won at The Australian G.C. in 2014 and at Royal Sydney in 2016, as well as Rory McIlroy (2013), Tom Watson (1984) and six-time winner Jack Nicklaus, among others.

“There are some good names here; Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player,” Niemann said. “It feels pretty good [to join them]. It’s nice to be here with the trophy. This is a good test to get ready next season.”

A season Niemann hopes will include more majors.

Main Image: Andy Cheung

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The 34-year-old, who joined Stinger GC at the start of 2023, started the day three shots off top spot but took the lead on the fifth and never looked back, putting in a nerveless display to finish the week at 18 under.

Closing out victory on home soil ??#JoburgOpen pic.twitter.com/0SdVDKsQE5

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 26, 2023

South Africa’s Darren Fichardt – fresh off regaining his card at the Qualifying School – was the nearest challenger after a 64 of his own, finishing two shots clear of defending champion Dan Bradbury, who signed for the same score.

Those three will now be heading to Royal Troon next summer, with the top three players not already exempt earning a spot in the 2024 Open Championship via the Qualifying Series.

Jacques Kruyswijk fired a 69, one shot more than fellow South African Zander Lombard as the duo finished at 12 under, one shot ahead of World Number 1,214 Nikhil Rama, with five home players in the top six.

The win for Burmester is his third on the DP World Tour and he was delighted to put on a “special” performance to overturn Thriston Lawrence’s lead in front of the home fans.

“I actually can’t describe what’s really happened,” he said.

“The fans are always fantastic at home in South Africa and I’m so happy to be home and playing at home and eating a bit of braai meat and having a good time.

“Thriston is an amazing competitor and he had a three-shot lead so I knew I had to do something special and fortunately I was able to do that.”

Lawrence found the trees on the right with his tee-shot at the second and then the bushes on the left with his second, taking a drop to surrender a double-bogey and see his lead cut to one.

He was in a share as he failed to get up and down on the third and Fichardt was soon alongside him as he spectacularly holed out for eagle from the fairway on the second and made a nice up-and-down on the fifth

Burmester hit the front on his own as he was one roll from an eagle on the fifth and his lead was two shots when he hit a stunning approach to three feet at the eighth.

Fichardt trimmed the advantage at the par-five tenth after laying up and leaving himself six feet but Burmester recovered well from a poor tee-shot to take advantage of the same hole and restore his cushion.

The duo were going toe-to-toe and Fichardt holed from five feet at the 13th but Burmester drove right up to the front of the green on the same hole and got up and down to have breathing space again.

A big drive down the 15th then allowed Burmester to set up a birdie from ten feet and he gave a fist-pumping celebration as the lead was stretched to three.

Fichardt holed from 20 feet on the last on the last to wrap up solo second but Burmester had time to make another birdie from six feet on the 17th and seal a commanding victory.

Bradbury had bogeyed the second but he made a hat-trick of gains from the fourth, left himself seven feet at the ninth and holed out for eagle from the fairway to get into a share for second.

The Englishman hit a tee-shot to seven feet on the 14th and and an approach to similar range on the 17th as he looked to set a testing target but a slip on the last resulted in a poor second and a bogey.

Lombard got up and down on the fifth and holed from ten feet at the sixth but had 16 pars apart from those birdies, missing a putt on the last that would have sent him to Royal Troon at Bradbury’s expense.

Kruyswijk made birdies on the eighth, 13th and last but surrendered a double after finding water on the 15th, while Rama had two birdies and two bogeys in his 70.

South African Lawrence carded a 75 to finish at ten under alongside Malaysia’s Gavin Green, who signed for a 64, and one ahead of local pair Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jayden Schaper and Dutchman Darius van Driel.

Image: DPWT Twitter / X

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He has “expressed his desire to play a full DP World Tour schedule in 2024 and has fulfilled all sanctions – both financial and tournament suspensions – that were imposed upon him for breaches of the Tour’s conflicting event regulation across 2022 and 2023” in a DP World Tour Statement.

The Austrian at the start of 2023 had his membership ceased, and was removed from the Race to Dubai, after he failed to comply with the Tour’s minimum counting event regulation for the 2023 season according to the DP World Tour.

His request for reinstatement has been granted by DP World Tour Chief Executive Keith Pelley, and will play under Category 11 for the 2024 DP World Tour season.

Wiesberger announced on X (formerly twitter) that he never resigned his membership and therefore is grateful for the opportunity to be able to play a full schedule once again starting in Dubai in January.

Last season on LIV Bernd finished in 41st place on the standings, putting him in the ‘Open Zone’ which is for players finishing the season in positions 25-44 who face potential trade or release by their teams.

Wiesberger is currently ranked 510th on the Official World Golf Ranking and had earned over 15 million euros on the DP World Tour since 2007.

Image: Getty

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While even before the first tee shot had been hit, Rory McIlroy had sewn up the 2023 Race to Dubai with a week to spare in a season that has seen him win two Rolex Series events, secure three top tens in Major Championships and miss just one cut on the DP World Tour.

Højgaard had led after days one and two at Jumeirah Golf Estates but entered the final round three shots off the pace before pulling himself right into contention with a front nine of 33.

He was back on top with a gain on the tenth and then reeled off five birdies in a row from the 13th to get to 21 under and hold off the challenge of his Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland and overnight leader Matt Wallace.

Fleetwood and Hovland signed for a pair of 68s, one shot less than Wallace, to sit two ahead of defending champion Jon Rahm, South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence and Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.

Højgaard finished fourth over the Earth Course in his only previous appearance at this event in 2021, catapulting himself into the top ten on that season’s final Rankings and he will finish 2023 second behind Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy.

Ryder Cup rookie Nicolai Højgaard wins the DP World Tour Championship! ???#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/y52cIzvce4

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 19, 2023

While becoming an international player and starting his career on the PGA TOUR this year, he recorded seven DP World Tour top tens to earn his place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team, winning half a point as Luke Donald’s men defeated the United States.

He added to that tally by finishing second at last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge and brought that form to Dubai, where he is now a three-time DP World Tour champion and enters the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time.

“It means a lot, it’s the sweetest one,” he said.

“So much hard work has been put in over the past couple of years – it feels amazing, this is for family and everything they put in over the years. So much hard work going into this, for it to happen like this is unbelievable.

“We know there are a lot of birdies but we have to hit the shots and hole the putts, anything can happen we were just focused on the job today, to walk up 18 knowing there’s a good chance feels good.

“I played some really good golf. I have to say this is the best golf I’ve played in a tournament and the strongest field in my three wins. My game feels good, I felt good before going out and to finish it like this feels good.

“This is the sweetest way to finish the year, I cant believe we finished on such a high note, I’m definitely going to enjoy this.”

England’s Fleetwood joined the lead from ten feet at the first and it was soon a three-way tie as Hovland got up and down from the sand on the par-five second.

A monster 40-foot eagle putt on the same hole handed Fleetwood a two-shot lead but he bogeyed the fourth after finding sand off the tee and soon had company at 17 under.

Wallace made a 40-footer of his own on the sixth and ahead at the par-five seventh Hovland made a two-putt birdie before hitting the front on his own from five feet on the eighth.

The Norwegian failed to find the green in two at the next and the resulting bogey left the door open for Højgaard to join the lead.

The 22-year-old had made a two-putt gain on the fourth, holed a long putt at the fifth and hit a beautiful tee-shot into the next before putting an approach to five feet at the tenth.

Fleetwood found another gear after the turn, however, putting a pitch inside five feet on the tenth and a brilliant second to two feet at the next to move two ahead.

Højgaard had dropped a shot on the 12th but he put his tee-shot at the par-three 13th inside ten feet and then found the green at the par-five 14th in two to trim the gap to one.

Hovland also took advantage of the 14th with two putts but Højgaard was relentless, pitching from the first cut to seven feet for three birdies in a row and a share of the lead.

Nicolai Højgaard, currently tied for the lead, reaches 190mph ball speed drive at 16! ?#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/P5EucBPN2B

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 19, 2023

Another beautiful approach to four feet at the 16th edged him ahead but Fleetwood holed a brilliant, curling 15-foot right-to-lefter on the 15th, only to see Højgaard make a fifth birdie in a row on the 17th after a tee-shot to four feet.

He missed a chance from four feet for six in a row but a Fleetwood three-putt on the 17th meant the he, Wallace and Hovland needed eagles up the last to force a play-off, a feat none of them could achieve.

Hovland added a further birdie at the 16th before parring the last after finding water, while Englishman Wallace had dropped a shot on the seventh and reeled off six pars in a row before birdies at the 14th, 15th and 17th sent him back up the leaderboard.

Spaniard Rahm and Lawrence both carded rounds of 66, with Pavon signing for a 67 to sit at 17 under, one shot clear of another Frenchman in Victor Perez and two ahead of Scot Ewen Ferguson and Dane Jeff Winther.

Image: David Cannon

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No matter, the big picture is what the history books will recall most vividly. Only Seve Ballesteros with six and Colin Montgomerie with eight have more victories in what used to be called the Order of Merit.

“It’s great,” was McIlroy’s initial reaction at the conclusion of a closing-round 71 that left him 10 under par for the week and in desultory tie for 22nd place in the 50-man field. “I think it shows my consistency year-to-year. I think over the last 10 years, I think I’ve won eight season-long titles between America and between here, so it just shows my level of consistency. I said to [caddie] Harry [Diamond] on the last green, there’s a few guys that are able to beat me sort of one week or the next week, but I don’t think there’s a lot of people that can beat me throughout the entire season.”

There was room for hint at some regret over a 2023 in which he failed to add to his total of four major championship victories.

“It’s just about trying to be a little more clinical when I get to those weeks where I have chances to win,” McIlroy said. “Overall, it’s been another really solid year. My stroke average has been great, and I’ve played really good golf, really consistent. Hopefully there will be more of the same going into next year and beyond. I’ve still got a little bit left in the tank and still got a good eight to 10 years left in me where I can play at the top, top level. I’d like to think that I’m going to at least try to get past Seve, then get past Monty as well. It’s certainly a goal of mine for the rest of my career to do something like that. It would mean a lot to me.”

As for highlights this year, McIlroy’s mind inevitably switched to the shot he hit to the 72nd green at the Renaissance Club in Scotland back in July.

Ridiculous approach on 18 from @McIlroyRory ?

He’ll have a good look at birdie for the win @ScottishOpen. pic.twitter.com/BlSgIMGVrC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2023

“I’ve probably hit shots that have been more consequential in bigger events, but in terms of just the pure quality of the shot I’m not sure if I’ve ever hit one as good as that,” he said. “It was a perfect 3-iron, but I didn’t have a 3-iron in the bag. So it was case of either turning a 4-iron into a 3-iron, or a 2-iron into a 3-iron. I was over a 4-iron first, but couldn’t see how it was going to get over the false front of the green. So I went from hitting a big draw with the 4-iron to hitting a little cut with the 2-iron. It came out perfect. joy as I had pictured it in my mind.”

A big-time shot from a big-time player in yet another big year you might say.

Image: Andrew Redington

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