Rory McIlroy tearfully dedicates Dubai title to ailing father: 'This one's for him'

          • ESPN News Services
          Nov 15, 2026, 07:20 AM ET

          An emotional Rory McIlroy dedicated his latest Race to Dubai title to his ailing father, fighting through tears to declare, "This one's for him."

          McIlroy captured the seasonlong Race to Dubai title on the DP World Tour for a record-tying eighth time by finishing second Sunday at the World Tour Championship, which was won by Tyrrell Hatton.

          After securing the title, McIlroy was asked about his father, Gerry, who has been hospitalized for two months.

          "He underwent a huge operation at the end of September and is recovering well, thankfully," a tearful McIlroy said. "When I left to come to the Middle East, I went up to Cleveland to see him, and he said to me, 'Go win the Race to Dubai.' This one's for him."

          McIlroy admitted that he was thinking about his father "a lot" during what turned out to be a tense final round where he regularly changed places atop the projected standings with Spain's Eugenio Chacarra.

          He joined Colin Montgomerie atop the all-time list of winners of the previously named "Order of Merit" award, adding another significant achievement to the résumé of a player who has done pretty much everything in golf -- notably the career Grand Slam.

          Hatton shot a 6-under 66 to win the season-ending event by five strokes at 15-under par, but the main focus was on the fight for the yearlong points title between McIlroy and Chacarra, who arrived in Dubai atop the standings just ahead of the Northern Irishman.

          With Chacarra playing one group behind McIlroy, the pair regularly exchanged places in the top two spots of the projected standings. McIlroy won out, shooting a bogey-free 67 that ultimately left him in outright second place.

          Chacarra needed to eagle the par-5 18th -- or get some unlikely help from a couple of players finishing their rounds after him -- but neither scenario transpired. He shot 69 and tied for third, dropping him to second place in the Race to Dubai standings by the small matter of around 125 points.

          McIlroy has now won the seasonlong title for the past five years, as well as in 2012, 2014 and 2015, and he was congratulated by Chacarra outside the scorer's hut.

          "Deserved winner," Chacarra said, before McIlroy made a video call to his family -- "stress, stress, stress," he was heard saying.

          Chacarra said he was proud of the way he took the fight to McIlroy in his first appearance at the World Tour Championship and in his first full season on the European tour.

          "I just came [up] short," the 26-year-old Chacarra said. "That's the beauty of golf.

          "Obviously, when you play with the best in the world ... he's played here 14, 15 times, you knew it was going to be tough, and he had a better day than I did."

          A consolation for Chacarra in his breakthrough year was becoming one of 10 players to secure places on next season's PGA Tour that were available to European tour members not otherwise exempt.

          Three of them -- including Chacarra -- were formerly on the LIV Golf circuit. The others are Patrick Reed and Bernd Wiesberger.

          Players typically are banned by the PGA Tour for one year dating to their last LIV appearance. Reed chose in January not to renew his LIV deal and was eligible to return to the PGA Tour for the FedEx Cup Fall but opted instead to try to win the Race to Dubai title. He tied for 31st on Sunday and finished fourth in the seasonlong standings.

          Wiesberger returned to the European tour in 2024 after playing two seasons at LIV.

          Also getting a card for the PGA Tour were South Africans Casey Jarvis and Jayden Schaper, Daniel Hillier of New Zealand, Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark, Oliver Lindell of Finland, and English players Andy Sullivan and Joe Dean.

          Just six years ago, Dean was delivering groceries during the COVID-19 pandemic. He kept doing it for nearly four years to help fund his golf career when he didn't have a card and now is heading across the Atlantic.

          Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.