Rory McIlroy fights back tears after ending season of pain on a high with Tour Championship glory

Rory McIlroy could not fell his emotion aft ending a chastening seven-month hold for a win, holding his nervus to triumph the DP World Tour Championship by 2 shots connected Sunday

Rory McIlroy choked backmost tears aft winning the DP World Tour Championship and the Race To Dubai connected Sunday, finishing a achy play connected a high.

McIlroy was flooded with emotion arsenic helium equaled Seve Ballesteros' six European Tour bid of merit titles, with lone eight-time victor Colin Montgomerie up of him. It is McIlroy's 4th triumph of the season, but his archetypal since May – enduring a achy bid of adjacent misses since.

McIlroy entered the tourney astatine the Earth people astir definite to triumph the Race To Dubai, with lone South Africa's Thriston Lawrence successful with a accidental of beating him to the season-long title. But helium made it a treble triumph, winning the Tour Championship by 2 shots implicit Rasmus Hojgaard.

After a birdie astatine the last, McIlroy fto retired a pained groan arsenic helium spoke to Sky Sports, warring backmost the tears arsenic the ghosts of a brutal play were banished.

He suffered agony astatine the US Open successful June, blowing a two-shot pb down the agelong to acquisition triumph to Bryson DeChambeau. Painful adjacent misses followed astatine the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship, but helium finished his play connected a cleanable note.

"It means a lot. I've been done a batch this year. Professionally, personally, and it feels similar the fitting extremity to 2024," helium said. "I've persevered this twelvemonth a lot, had adjacent calls, wasn't capable to get it done, truthful to beryllium capable to get implicit the enactment today...

"I got disconnected to a large commencement and past didn't person my champion round, redeeming par connected 15 was immense and past I had 4 large swings coming in. Really pleased with the mode I finished and thankfully I hung connected on a pugnacious day."

McIlroy had to halt himself crying again erstwhile helium was reminded that helium had gone level with Ballesteros.

"It's truly cool. I deliberation everyone knows what Seve means to European golf and Ryder Cup players," McIlroy said. In the European locker room, each we person our quotes from Seve, we person a changing country with a Seve garment from '95, the past Ryder Cup helium played.

"He means truthful overmuch to European play and for maine to beryllium mentioned successful the aforesaid breath, I'm precise proud.

"I'm up for [chasing Colin Montgomerie down]. I've conscionable won my 3rd successful a enactment and I've truly made it a precedence with my docket implicit the past fewer years to springiness myself a accidental with the Race to Dubai and I don't spot that being immoderate antithetic for the foreseeable future.

"I'm going to spell for my seventh adjacent twelvemonth and effort and pursuit Monty down."

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