Q. Great to see you here in Dubai once again, and it must be a very familiar feeling, I guess, coming here on the cusp, it would seem, of another Race to Dubai title.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, fortunately it's a familiar feeling. Yeah, I think it's a nice time to reflect on the year when you come here and you're on the cusp of doing something that, to me, is still pretty meaningful, and just thinking about the body you've put together over the last 10 or 11 months.
You don't think about it during the year because you're just going from week-to-week and trying to do your best every tournament that you show up to. But sort of when you get to the business end of things at the end of the year, you start to or, realise at least I've put together a year that I'm pretty proud of, even if it hasn't culminated in some of the things that I've wanted to achieve.
But it's still been an incredibly consistent year, and I've been proud of that.
Q. You've been vocal about your ultimate desire to hunt down Monty, but were to you do it this week, you would move alongside Seve Ballesteros. They kind of did it in a different way to the way that you did it because schedules have changed and the way that you go about things, but it's still an honour that equates in a sense?
RORY McILROY: It does. It was the Order of Merit back then and The Race to Dubai now. The schedule that we play now, a lot of us base ourselves in America for a lot of the year.
But at the same time, with the way everything has gone in golf we don't get the opportunity to come back and play in a lot of European Tour events. So whenever we do get that opportunity, you have to make the most of it.
I know that my DP World Tour starts are limited, so every time I see it up, I know that I have to play well, even though I'm make in the biggest events with the most points and the most money, you still need to take advantage of the opportunity whenever you do, whenever you do play.
And yeah, I probably went a few years not prioritizing it, and I think I might be a little bit closer to Monty that I am now but it's something that I really wanted. It's a huge honour. It really is a huge honour. Every time that I come back and play on this tour, I'm proud to be a member, and I'm proud to support as much as I can.
If I were to win The Race to Dubai for a sixth time, that would be a really cool achievement for me.
Q. The thing that I find remarkable about it is if you add up the number of players that you beat in standard European Tour events, if I can put it that way, compared with the number of players who beat you, it's literally apart from Dunhill, it's a handful. It's half a dozen golfers would beat you in one of these events this year. That's extraordinary.
RORY McILROY: I think it speaks to what I was talking about with the consistency. I have really -- I think I've prided myself on my consistency throughout my career but especially over the last few years -- I feel like every time I show up to a tournament, if I'm not winning, I'm close to winning or in the top 5 or in the top 10, and sometimes that can get criticised because people think maybe I don't win as much as I should.
But it's very competitive out here, and you know, I feel like I still have a pretty high win percentage compared to my peers. But yeah, it's been a very, very consistent year. It's been a consistent few years, and I think the only thing that is missing is maybe just a couple more wins?
Q. You talk about trimming the schedule next year but if I can put it in these terms, it looks like it's going to be America that will take the hit rather than DP World Tour.
RORY McILROY: Yeah, I think I'm not going to miss these tournaments in the Middle East. I'm not going to miss Wentworth. I'm not going to miss the Irish Open. I'm not going to miss The Scottish Open.
But there was a few events this year in America that I played that I don't typically play, and I think that's where I'm going to have to trim a little bit.
But yeah, I have to remember, I'm 35 now. I'm not 23.
Q. You're not 40.
RORY McILROY: I'm knocking on it a little bit. I've got the grey hairs to prove it.
At 35, and I've been on tour for 17 or 18 years, look, I'm not slowing down at all, but I just have to take care of myself and take care of my body a little bit more, and 27 events this year is maybe a touch too many. If I can trim it back down to 22 or 23, I think that would be good for me in the long run.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports