Rory McIlroy Calls Getting New Award Named After Him ‘Humbling’

Starting in 2026, the Rory McIlroy Award will be earned by the DP World Tour player who collects the most Race to Dubai points in major championships.

Rory McIlroy will have an award named after him following his Masters win. / Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Rory McIlroy was already in rare air after winning the Masters this year and becoming the seventh golfer to claim the career Grand Slam. 

However, he was the first European player to accomplish that feat—and that will come with an additional honor. 

On Tuesday, the DP World Tour announced the inception of the Rory McIlroy Award. 

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Starting in 2026, the award will be earned by the DP World Tour player who collects the most Race to Dubai points (part of the tour’s season-long standings) in major championships. 

“To have something named after you, that will be presented to future generations of players, is a huge honor and it is very humbling,” McIlroy said in a statement. “I’m incredibly proud to be the first European to achieve the career Grand Slam. The Majors represent the pinnacle of our sport, and I hope my success can inspire other DP World Tour members to chase and achieve their own dreams for years to come.”

"To have my name up there along with Harry Vardon and Sir Henry Cotton and Seve Ballesteros and John Jacobs, that's very special."

What the Rory McIlroy Award means to the man himself 💬 https://t.co/jSKGXb8eqm pic.twitter.com/qoOOTRyEHL

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 11, 2025

Shortly after the Masters in April, DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings brought up the award to McIlroy. Initially, the 36-year-old thought it was too early. But then he came around to the idea. 

“The more I thought about it,” McIlroy said, “I’m not going to be around forever playing.”

And Kinnings is glad the five-time major winner agreed to this decoration. 

“Whilst Rory will no doubt go on to achieve many more great things during his career, as a Tour we wanted to commemorate his historic achievement this year of becoming the first European winner of the career Grand Slam,” Kinnings said in a statement. “This new award will be a permanent legacy that we hope will inspire future generations of DP World Tour members aiming to follow in Rory’s footsteps on golf’s biggest stage.”

There’s one caveat, though: McIlroy can’t win his own award. 

So instead, the Northern Irishman shifts his focus to winning his seventh Race to Dubai title, one short of Colin Montgomerie’s record, and fourth in a row this week at the DPWT’s season finale. 

“To move from six to seven, to go one past Seve [Ballesteros] would be amazing,” said McIlroy, who has a 767.02 point lead in the season-long standings. “To get one closer to Monty would be amazing.”

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