Looking back on a phenomenal year, golf’s world number one Rory McIlroy said he had taken his game to a new level by conjuring victories when not necessarily being at the peak of his powers, writes Tony Jimenez.
The 23-year-old Northern Irishman increased his big lead at the top of the rankings by winning the DP World Tour Championship by two shots on Sunday, capping the final event of the European season with a fantastic run of five birdies in a row.
It was McIlroy’s fifth victory of the campaign and was achieved even though he had been under the weather for most of the week, fighting sunstroke and a fever.
'That’s the big difference this year,' he said in Dubai. 'When I’ve not been playing my best I’ve still been able to compete and to win tournaments.
'That’s something I said earlier in the year I wanted to try and get better at. Being able to win without your best game is what (14-times major champion) Tiger Woods has done for so many years. That’s why he’s won so many tournaments. I feel like I’m definitely not at that level quite yet but I’m learning how to do it.'
Earlier this season McIlroy lifted his second major title, adding the US PGA Championship to the US Open he won in 2011.
The big-hitting favourite of golf fans all around the world also won the Honda Classic in Florida and two tournaments in the US PGA Tour’s end-of-season FedExCup play-off series.
McIlroy has had such a hectic end to the year that he had not yet had time to appreciate the scale of his achievements.
'I guess the US PGA is going to be my highlight of 2012. Europe’s Ryder Cup win is up there as well and Dubai is probably close behind,' he said.
'It’s going to be nice to have a few weeks off now and reflect and think back about all the great moments of my year.'
McIlroy also became the second player, after Ryder Cup teammate Luke Donald last year, to win the money lists on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Northern Irishman will return to golf at the Abu Dhabi Championship in January, another tournament sure to be billed as a showdown between him and former world number one Woods.
McIlroy’s rivals were in awe of his two-shot victory and compared the world number one’s form to the dominance 14-times major winner Tiger Woods displayed in his prime.
Donald, who played alongside McIlroy in the last round at the Greg Norman-designed Earth course, said the 23-year-old’s performance proved he was the world’s most outstanding golfer. South African Charl Schwartzel, who tied for third with Donald, was similarly impressed by the standard of golf McIlroy had produced in 2012.
