Rory McIlroy used his DP World Tour Championship triumph to thank his wife, Erica Stoll, for ‘sticking by him’ six months after the pair filed for divorce.
McIlroy and Stoll began the process of ending their seven-year marriage in May before getting back together a month later. The couple have a three-year-old daughter, Poppy, and McIlroy stated upon reconciling that their ‘best future is as a family together’.
The Northern Irishman also went through a tough time competitively this season, losing a play-off at the BMW PGA Championship, coming up one stroke short at the Irish Open and fumbling a win which would have ended his major drought at the US Open in July.
Having rounded off the season on a major high at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, McIlroy used his winning speech to deliver an emotional message to his family. “Erica, Poppy [his daughter], I know you are here somewhere. I love you and thanks for sticking by me,” he said.
“I’ve been through a lot this year professionally and personally. It feels like the fitting end to 2024. I have persevered this year a lot, had close calls, wasn’t able to get it done.
“But, you know, I’m super happy with where I am in my career and in my life, and I feel like everything’s worked out the way it was supposed to.”
It went down to the wire at Jumeirah Golf Estates, with McIlroy only nudging ahead of Rasmus Hojgaard with a birdie on the 16th hole of the final round. He held his nerve and holed out at the last to open up a two-shot advantage when all was said and done.
Four-time major champion McIlroy ends the 2024 campaign with a sixth Order of Merit title as the Race to Dubai winner, crowning him the best player on the DP World Tour.
“I would have been miserable for a few weeks if I had not won today,” he continued. “It would have just added to the list of ones that I felt I let get away. For one to not get away and to get over the line and be the final event of the year, it feels nice.
“There was probably a lot of self-inflicted pressure. I really wanted to get it done. I love to end the year on a positive note. I was maybe feeling a little more pressure than I should have. But it was nice to be able to handle it in a decent way.”
