When Rory McIlroy was asked to grade his 2024 season, he gave himself a passing grade, but it wasn't without a few comments. Heading into this week's DP World Tour Championship, the 35-year-old has the chance to claim his third consecutive European title of the season, capping off a season many will remember not for its triumphs but rather for its foibles become. McIlroy got off to a great start in this search. ended up tied at the top of the leaderboard after round 1 on Thursday.
“[My year was] “Incredibly consistent again,” said McIlroy. “I think that's what I've been really proud of over the last few years.” But at the same time, I think about those who got away. I could be sitting up here with a fifth major title, but I'm not. It hurts and I have to deal with it, but at the same time I have a lot more options in the future.
“But I've really just tried to focus on the positives this year, which is consistently playing at the highest level. You know, I still have three wins with a chance of getting a fourth here this week to win another Race to Dubai title. Do you know, Did I achieve every goal I set for myself this year? Probably not.
“But I still think it’s a successful season. You have two guys at the top of the world rankings. Xander.” [Schauffele] win two majors. You know, Scottie [Scheffler] Winning a Masters and a Players as well as the Olympics. You have clearly stood out from the crowd this year. I’m obviously very aware of that and it just motivates me more to try and emulate what they did this year.”
McIlroy ultimately gave himself a grade of “B” for a year, which many of his colleagues would dream of. The Northern Irishman began his season in the Middle East, winning his fourth Dubai Desert Classic trophy before switching to his PGA Tour schedule. At the same time, a serious left-hand error by the driver crept into his repertoire and impaired his competitiveness. He showed flashes of breakthrough, like at the Players Championship where he held the lead in the first round, but the big numbers proved too big to overcome.
He finally turned things around with Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic, where the two won a playoff in the team event. McIlroy's third win of the year came in his next start, with a final-round 65 to propel him past Xander Schauffele and into the Wells Fargo Championship winner's circle for the fourth time in his career.
The Wells Fargo Championship also marked McIlroy's final tournament before the PGA Championship, which saw him return to Valhalla – the site of his last major championship in 2014. A second-round 71 was his undoing in Louisville, as record-breaking conditions compounded any hiccups .
Two more events have already passed The Event of the 2024 McIlroy season, the US Open. The four-time major champion opened with a 65 at No. 2 Pinehurst, shared the first-round lead with Patrick Cantlay and more or less held serve until the final nine games of the championship. With four holes to go, McIlroy had a one-shot lead, playing that final stretch in two overs and handing Bryson DeChambeau his fifth major triumph.
From then on, he continued to manage to win tournaments but continued to fail. In his 10 starts since the US Open, McIlroy has posted five top-five finishes, including agonizing runner-up finishes at both the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship.
Despite the heartache, McIlroy's season is among the best in the game. Even if he doesn't get another win this week, McIlroy will have the second-most wins worldwide, behind only the aforementioned Scheffler with three. In doing so, he secured his 25th (and 26th) career PGA Tour title and joins a short list of players with four majors and 25 PGA Tour victories, all before he is in his late 30s.
“I think it's a nice time to reflect on the year when you come here and you're about to do something that's still pretty meaningful to me and just think about the body that you've had over the last “It's been a year building up for 10 or 11 months,” McIlroy said. “You don't think about it all year long because you just go from week to week and try to do your best in every tournament you show up at.”
“But when you get to the business end of the year, you realize that at least I've put together a year that I'm pretty proud of, even if it hasn't yet led to such a pinnacle of things that I've accomplished wanted. But it was still an incredibly consistent year and I was proud of that.
