Reflecting on his 2024 season, Rory McIlroy has admitted that his agonising loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open in June still "stings".
McIlroy's campaign will come to an end in the Middle East this week, with the Northern Irishman closing in on a sixth Race to Dubai crown at the DP World Tour Championship. He currently holds a lead of 1,785 points over Thriston Lawrence, and knows a top-11 finish on Sunday will guarantee him the season-long crown for the third year in a row.
Should McIlroy emerge victorious, it will also be his sixth Race to Dubai title, matching Seve Ballesteros' total and just two away from record eight-time winner Colin Montgomerie.
But while there were certainly successes in 2024, it was another year without a major for McIlroy, who has been now gone 10 years without adding another major win to his trophy cabinet.
But what makes it even more painful is that he was on course to finally break that drought on the final day of the US Open at Pinehurst, until he collapsed with three bogeys in his last four holes to hand the title to DeChambeau.
"Incredibly consistent again. I've been really proud of that over the past few years," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"But then, at the same time, thinking about the ones that have got away.
"I should be sitting up here with a fifth major title and I'm not, so that stings and that's something that I've had to come to terms with. But at the same time, I've got plenty more opportunities in the future.
"But I really just tried to focus on the positives this year of consistently performing at the highest level. You know, still having three wins with an opportunity to get a fourth here this week, to win another Race to Dubai title.
"Did I achieve every goal I set myself this year? Probably not, but I still consider it a successful season."
McIlroy said it was a great honour to equal the great Seve Ballesteros' six European crowns.
"I guess I am a little too young to remember a lot of Seve's career and things that he did. Seve is almost like, not a mythical character to me, but was just a little bit before my time," he added.
"But he was my dad's favourite player. The immense impact he had on European golf from a Ryder Cup and from what he did for the European Tour, he means a lot to the overall game of golf but specifically in this part of the world and on this tour.
"To draw level with him and to have a career that can somewhat stack up against his is very cool."
