Rory McIlroy winning the Race to Dubai title for the second straight year moves him to within touching distance of Seve Ballesteros and three shy of Colin Montgomerie 's record.
McIlroy, 34, finished the DP World Tour Championship in a tie for 22nd on 10-under, 11 shots shy of Nicolai Hojgaard, who took the title on the final day. However, the Northern Irishman already had an unassailable lead in the rankings before teeing off on the Greg Norman -designed Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
That meant hoisting the Harry Vardon trophy for a fifth time following the final round. The latest triumph moves McIlroy clear of Peter Oosterhuis into outright third place on the overall leaderboard, only behind Ballesteros (six) and Montgomerie (eight).
McIlory remains well aware of where he stands in the record books and is backing himself to surpass both men before retiring. "It's absolutely amazing to be up there with Seve and Monty, the greats of European golf," he said.
"I never in my wildest dreams thought I'd get this far, but there's no reason to stop here. I'd love to be on this green again next year and try to win a sixth of those and keep it going."
He added: "I've still got a little bit left in the tank. I think I've 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 challenge, at least try to get past Seve and then sort of try to get past Monty as well. But 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."
He went on to insist that he's not satisfied with his golf, despite being happy about back-to-back titles. "It's been a good last couple of years, but I want to kick on now and try to win more majors, and that's where my focus is, and we keep going forward," McIlroy stated.
"I think winning shows my consistency year-to-year. Over the last 10 years, I think I've won eight season-long titles between America and here, so it just shows my level of consistency.
"I said to Harry [Diamond] on the last green that there are 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. It's just about trying to be a little more clinical when I get to those weeks where I have chances to win.
"Overall, it's been another really solid year. The stroke average has been great, and I've played really good golf. Hopefully, more of the same going into next year and beyond."
His 2024 starts in the same place that 2023 is ending. The Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic are back-to-back events at the beginning of the 2024 DP World Tour.
