Rory McIlroy said he would need to do something special.
Afterwards a scruffy week in his title defense at the Irish Open, McIlroy came into this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in second place in the Race ranking in Dubaigives himself a real chance to win his eighth title of the season this fall and tie Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight Race to Dubai crowns. But while McIlroy is in second place, he is nearly 1,000 points behind Patrick Reed, who won twice earlier this year.
“Obviously I’m in a very lucky position, I guess, to go for an eighth Race to Dubai. I can’t believe I’m sitting here with seven. So, yeah, I’d like to give it another chance,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Last week was not a good week for me in terms of points in general. Patrick had a good week, and I didn’t have such a great week. I will try – I will try to make up for it this week.”
Reed said “it meant a lot” to spoil McIlroy’s chances, but things took a turn in McIlroy’s favor this week. The six-time major champion opened with rounds of 69 and 67 while Reed withdrew due to injury on Friday. However, McIlroy needed a big weekend at Wentworth to close the gap on – or potentially overtake – Reed heading into the home stretch of the Race to Dubai season.
For most of Saturday’s third round, it didn’t seem to be in the cards. While a full ranking jockeyed for position, McIlroy played the first 11 holes in one over par and slipped behind a wave of challengers that included Adam Scott, JJ Spaun and Joaquin Niemann. But then McIlroy birdied the 12th before finishing with that special something he said he needed earlier in the week.
He made another round at the par-5 17th before hitting a 230-yard 4-iron to a few feet for a closing tap-in eagle on the 18th.
That thunderous 4-iron sent the Wentworth crowd roaring and put McIlroy at 11 under through 54 holes, two shots behind co-leaders Filippo Celli and Manuel Elvira, who are 358th and 294th respectively in the Official World Golf Ranking.
“It was a perfect 4 iron where I could just hold it in the wind slightly,” McIlroy said. “I just needed to stand up and make a good and committed swing, and I did it. And obviously a great way to end the day and keep within touching distance of the leaders.”
Playing the par-5 back-nine three in four under, McIlroy put himself in position to not only win his second career BMW PGA Championship, but also potentially overtake Reed at the top of the Race to Dubai leaderboard. With the BMW PGA Championship worth 9,000 points, McIlroy needs just one second to overtake Reed at the top of the season points list.
“I have a great opportunity tomorrow on both fronts. I would like to win this tournament again. It’s been a long time, 12 years,” said McIlroy after his round. “I have so many great memories of Wentworth in general. I came here for the first time as a 10-year-old boy to watch the World Match Play all day, and I came – it was always half-term. I always came with my mum and dad and I saw this.
“Fast forward, I won this event. I played a lot here and now we even have a house on the estate. This place has a lot of history for me. I hope I have a good chance and give me a real chance again.”
Through 11 holes on Saturday, McIlroy was struggling and it looked like he was going to let a golden opportunity to close the gap on Reed slip through his fingers. But after a flurry of electric finishes, Rory McIlroy now has the chance to end his Masters winning season as he did a year ago. After winning the 2025 Masters, McIlroy languished early winning his home Irish Open to get out of his malaise. He defending his Master’s title in April but has been battling some inconsistencies in his swing ever since.
On Sunday, he will have a chance to win another tournament that is close to his heart, in a place he now calls home. And in doing so, Rory McIlroy can move one step closer to European Tour history.
“I would definitely like to win again,” McIlroy said. “The Master feels like a long time ago. I’ve had half chances here and there since then, but tomorrow is a great opportunity.”
