Sam Torrance: Major or no major, Rory McIlroy has played his best golf in 2022
Nobody in the world is playing better right now than Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm, who concluded the European season in winning fashion on Sunday.
In a magnificent finish to the Race to Dubai, Rahm won the DP World Tour Championship for a third time while McIlroy’s fourth place saw him end the campaign as European No1.
Rahm didn’t drive the ball as well as he can but the rest of his game was superb. He delivered a killer blow to the field by birdieing the first three holes of his final round, and every time the chasing pack got close he pulled away again.
McIlroy, meanwhile, took a wee while to get going but glided up the leaderboard as the week went on. For the first time, he holds the European order of merit, the FedEx Cup and the world No1 ranking at the same time.
I don’t think he has ever swung the club better. They used to say Jack Nicklaus was a poor bunker player but that was only in comparison to the rest of his game. The same has been true of Rory’s short game, but he is now in the top five in the world for that aspect too.
It has been an incredible year for McIlroy, winning three times and contesting in most of the tournaments he entered. He will enjoy a break now but must be desperate for April and the Majors to start up again.
We shouldn’t judge too harshly that he didn’t win one this year. After all, he finished in the top 10 in all of them, and there are so many elements that go into winning in golf.
The other side of the coin, though, is that the top players themselves place so much importance on winning the majors. Next year it will be nine years since Rory’s last and that is too long for a player like him.
This year has certainly been the best he has played since he last won a major; in fact, I think he might have played his best ever golf this season. It’s very exciting for 2023 and, the way he is playing, I believe he will win the Masters next spring.
Rahm is right to criticise rankings
Rahm’s win has shone a light on something that’s wrong with the world ranking system. Despite beating a very high quality field in Dubai he has not moved from fifth place. He has only climbed one spot since embarking on a purple patch of two wins and a fourth place in his last three outings.
When Rahm won the DP World Tour Championship in 2019 he received 52 ranking points. This time it was under 22. That is ridiculous and shows why he has been loudly criticising the system lately. It is in a mess and obviously needs addressing.
I was pleased to see Tyrrell Hatton shared second in Dubai. He could have won at a canter if not for an error-laden back nine on Saturday but he is a great player and will keep improving.
Matt Fitzpatrick looked like pipping McIlroy to the Race to Dubai at the start of the week but faded on Sunday. He may be tired after a wonderful year that included his first major at the US Open. There ought to be a plaque at Brookline where he played his winning shot into the last.
Adrian Meronk also deserves congratulations for a brilliant year that ended eighth in the European order of merit. That is a fantastic achievement for the Pole, who is a good player with immense talent and one to watch.
Maguire and Hall finish in style
There was cause for celebration for British and Irish players on the LPGA Tour too, where Lydia Ko won the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship with an incredible display.
Ireland’s Leona Maguire capped a superb year with second place, while England’s Georgia Hall also rounded off a fine season in fourth.
Sam Torrance OBE is a former Ryder Cup-winning captain and one of Europe’s most successful golfers. Follow him @torrancesam