Rory McIlroy is one of just four golfers to go back-to-back at the Masters. He's also one of six players to complete the career Grand Slam. And while it might not hold quite the same prestige as those accomplishments, he's in Dubai this week chasing yet another piece of golf history.
McIlroy holds a share of the lead at 5 under after two rounds at the 2026 DP World Tour Championship, where a win would earn him his eighth career title in the season-long Race to Dubai, putting him in a tie with Colin Montgomerie for the most ever.
McIlroy entered the week at second in the Race to Dubai standings, more than 500 points behind Eugenio Chacarra, who's 1 under for the week and sits in a tie for 11th. McIlroy could still secure the season-long title without
a win, but he would need to finish well ahead of Chacarra.
But McIlroy isn't concerned with all the mathematical scenarios. He has his sights set on the task at hand: Playing two more good rounds of golf and winning a tournament.
"I want to win the tournament," McIlroy said. "And if I win the tournament, that's all I can do. It doesn't really matter what any of the other guys do, you know, if they play well enough. But if I go and I win the first trophy on Sunday, then the second trophy should take care of itself.”
If he does manage to win both trophies, it would mark his fifth consecutive Race to Dubai title. Montgomerie won seven in a row from 1993-1999 and added another in 2005.
McIlroy started hot in Friday's second round at Jumeirah Golf Estates, making four birdies and no bogeys in his first 11 holes. Things took a turn for the worst when he bogeyed the 12th and then dropped two more shots at the 16th and 17th, but a birdie on No. 18 moved him back into a tie atop the leaderboard with Tyrrell Hatton entering the weekend.
"NAILS IT" 🤯
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 13, 2026
Rory's 178mph three-wood into the 18th green from 290 yards.#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/ol1E0BsBzy
"It's very easy to make bogeys out there. It's very, very tricky once you get yourself out of position," McIlroy said. "So, easy to make bogeys, but it was nice to at least birdie the last and feel like I sort of salvaged the day a little bit with that birdie.
"I've been coming to this golf course for 17 years, and this is the toughest I think it's ever played. So in my mind it's sort of like, well, you should be going out and shooting 66 or 65, and the course just isn't set up that way this week. And you just have to show a little bit more patience out there. And I started to get maybe a little bit frustrated with the course on the way in. But I think it's just the nature of it. It's a tough test."
It will likely get even tougher over the weekend as McIlroy will try to hold off several big names, including Hatton and Jon Rahm, who's tied for eighth, just 3 shots off the lead.
And then there's Chacarra, who figures to be the most aggressive chaser given the stakes. The 26-year-old Spaniard has three wins on the DP World Tour this season and if he makes it four, he'll put an end to McIlroy's bid for history.
"I like how I'm hitting it," Chacarra said. "There's been a lot of birdies in harder conditions, so if I can clean up the card a little, I like my chance on the weekend."
McIlroy and Hatton will tee off in the final pairing for the third round at 12:40 p.m. local time in Dubai, which is 3:40 a.m. ET Saturday in the U.S.
Nick Stavas is a digital producer and commerce writer for Golfweek. Follow him on X/Twitter (@nickstavas).
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Rory McIlroy tied for lead at 2026 DP World Tour Championship as he chases history
