McIlroy issues Race to Dubai admission

(Photo: Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy accepts his withdrawal from the Turkish Airlines Open has left the Race to Dubai out of his hands this year.

The 27-year-old four-time major winner has won the Race for the past two years, but currently sits third in the standings after his joint fourth finish in the WGC-HSBC Champions on Sunday.

Open champion Henrik Stenson’s joint second in Shanghai leaves him leading McIlroy by more than a million points while Danny Willett is currently second in the Race to Dubai standings.

McIlroy’s hopes of cutting the gap have been hit by his decision to pull out of the Turkish Airlines Open, reportedly because of security concerns, with the Northern Irishman aware that he must hope for his rivals to slip up now.

The Northern Irishman said: “I guess it’s out of my hands. I took the decision not to go to Turkey next week and those boys can battle it out.

“If I have somewhat of a chance going into Dubai that’s great. But if not, I think over the course of the season they have had big wins and played well.

“They are two major champions, so I’m okay with that.”

The Turkish Airlines Open is the first of the three Final Series events in the Race to Dubai with the Nedbank Golf Challenge and the DP World Tour Championship to follow and Willett is the player in the top three to be signed up to feature at all of them.

Tagged Race to Dubai, Rory McIlory