All the near misses and the heartbreaks were finally forgotten as Rory McIlroy lifted two trophies at the Earth Course. In the 2024 season, McIlroy was always closer to winning some important tournament he missed by one birdie, the US Open, Amgen Irish Open, and the BMW PGA Championship are examples of his near wins. However, at the DP World Tour Championship, the Northern Irishman proved why he is one of the best golfers of today’s era.

He won the DP World Tour season finale for the fourth time in his career and also clinched the Race to Dubai trophy and became the best European golfer for the 6th time. It was probably the biggest victory for McIlroy this year as he matched, the legendary golfer, Seve Ballesteros’s record and shed a few tears. Indeed, it was a special win but did it threaten Scottie Scheffler’s world no. 1 reign on the Official World Golf Rankings? After winning the season finale, McIlroy received 30 OWGR points.

The point difference between the 4-time major winner and Scheffler was more than 300 points. So, despite an incredible win, McIlroy couldn’t dethrone Scheffler from the world no. 1 rank as he has won, seven PGA Tour events including the Masters. Not just that. The 18-time DP World Tour winner’s victory couldn’t rank him second on the OWGR either and replace Xander Schauffele. Nosferatu reported that after the DP World Tour Championship ended, the 14 on the OWGR wouldn’t change, meaning that McIlroy is still third.

Although McIlroy failed to replace Scheffler or Schauffele from the world’s top 2 positions, for more reasons than one, Rory McIlroy could be deemed the greatest golfer in the world.

Top 3 things where Rory McIlroy surpasses Scottie Scheffler

Not winning a major in the last 10 years has plagued Rory McIlroy for most of his career. But this doesn’t mean that the Northern Irishman did not win anything. Even in the 2024 season, he missed the majors but won two times on the PGA Tour and twice on the European side as well. You would say that it is still less than Scottie Scheffler’s season wins but when their careers are compared McIlroy surely has an upper hand.

McIlroy is not a successful player only on the PGA Tour, his victories come from the European side too. One thing that Scheffler doesn’t. On the PGA Tour alone, McIlroy has won 26, on the other hand, Scheffler has had only 14 titles. He did win the second green jacket in the 2024 season, the last major that McIlroy is still to add to his resume. But the 35-year-old still has more majors than the world no.1, a total of four.

He also has 41 professional wins, and not only in stroke play, McIlroy overcomes Scheffler even in match play. He has been part of five winning Ryder Cups, scoring 16 win points for the European side. Scheffler was part of the 2021 winning squad, but then he lost in 2023. So, far he has won only two points for the USA Team. If it goes to counting, McIlroy would probably have many other records surpassing Scheffler. So, if for the time being, the world no. 1 stays no. 1, it doesn’t mean that with his newfound swing and momentum, Rory McIlroy can’t take over him 2025.

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