This time, the tears were of joy. When Rory McIlroy was reduced to crying during a live television interview at the 2021 Ryder Cup, deep frustration over the state of his golf was the cause. On Sunday in Dubai, an emotional McIlroy rounded off 2024 by claiming the European order of merit for a sixth time and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

A year of near misses for the Northern Irishman – most notably at the US Open – ended on a high. McIlroy has matched Seve Ballesteros for order of merit, now named Race to Dubai, titles. “It means a lot,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot this year professionally, 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.

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“I think everyone knows what Seve means to European golf and to Ryder Cup players. In the European Ryder Cup locker room, all we have are quotes of Seve. We had a changing room with Seve’s shirt from ‘95, the last Ryder Cup he played. He means so much to European golf and for me to be mentioned in the same breath, I’m very proud.

“It’s been quite the year. I’m super-happy with where I am in my career and in my life. I feel like everything’s worked out the way it was supposed to.”

McIlroy ends 2024 with four tournament wins; not bad for a supposed nearly man. His latest came by holding off Rasmus Højgaard by two in the desert. McIlroy’s closing 69 meant a 15-under-par aggregate. Shane Lowry, Adam Scott and France’s Antoine Rozner shared third.

“I would have been miserable for a few weeks if I had not won today,” the 35-year-old said. “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.”

It feels as if McIlroy’s association with his home continent has strengthened in recent times. That feels significant, given the seemingly interminable delay between the PGA Tour and the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund formalising a peace deal to align elite golf. It could be that McIlroy feels more at home in the European domain. This Race to Dubai is his third in a row and moves him to within two of the record held by Colin Montgomerie.

“I’ve really made it a priority of my schedule over the last few years to give myself the best chance coming into the end of the year to win the Race to Dubai,” the world No 3 said. “I don’t see that being any different for the foreseeable future. Going to go for my seventh next year and try to chase Monty down. It’s been a long year. This was my 27th tournament, which is a lot to me. I am looking forward to a little bit of downtime.”

There was extra delight for McIlroy. Tom McKibbin, a 21-year-old from Belfast, earned his PGA Tour card courtesy of his season’s efforts on the DP World Tour. McIlroy has offered huge help to McKibbin since he emerged as Northern Ireland’s latest golfing star. “He’s done amazingly well, and I think his game is going to be suited for America,” McIlroy said. “He hits the ball high. Hits it long. He won in Germany last year, he has had chances this year and he’s been very, very consistent. For a guy that’s only 21 to show that level of consistency, that bodes well for the future.”