The Abu Dhabi Curse Rory McIlroy Has To Break If He Wants To Grab Race To Dubai Lead

If Rory McIlroy is to claim a record-equalling eighth Race To Dubai title then he may need to do something he's never done before - win in Abu Dhabi.

While simply not winning a tournament isn't such a big deal, McIlroy's failure to lift the Abu Dhabi Championship trophy is a bit of a stunner given his scintillating form in the event - and in the Middle East in general.

McIlroy can tie Colin Montgomerie as an eight-time Race To Dubai champion if he can finish top of the rankings this year - in what will also be his fifth victory in the row.

However, he's facing a tough battle from Patrick Reed and the surprise leader heading into the DP World Tour Play-Offs Eugenio Chacarra.

Given the points get such a huge bump in the closing two tournaments of the season, McIlroy should really be favourite to triumph as he's got an incredible record in the Middle East.

But while he's a prolific seven-time winner in Dubai, nearby Abu Dhabi is proving to be a huge anomaly as McIlroy's not yet managed to lift a trophy despite being on the podium almost every time he tees it up there.

McIlroy has played 14 times in Abu Dhabi and amazingly has finished in the top three 10 times - four as a runner-up and six times coming in third.

The Northern Irishman has only missed the cut once, had a lowest finish of T12 when making the weekend and came in T11 and T5 in his first two appearances.

"It's amazing being in contention that often but not getting over the line," said McIlroy, who has an Abu Dhabi trophy on his bucket list and came close again last year when he shot 62 on Sunday but missed joining Aaron Rai's playoff win over Tommy Fleetwood by just one stroke.

"I thought maybe last year was the year, and made a good push on Sunday and I came up one short with the playoff between Aaron and Tommy but I think I really liked Abu Dhabi Golf Club when we played there."

Third-placed McIlroy trails Chacarra by just under 1,000 points ahead of Abu Dhabi, and with 1,500 point on offer for the champion at Yas Links he'll likely have to finally break his duck here to go to Dubai leading the Race To Dubai.

That's been the case in the last four years when McIlroy has claimed the European No.1 spot - but with even more points on offer in Dubai, as far as that season-ending title goes he's happy to just be in touch next week.

"I think I would obviously love to win and be in that position going into next week," McIlroy admitted. "But I think what gives me comfort is the amount of points that are on offer this week and next week.

"So even if I don't win but I still have a strong finish, I'll still feel like I have a very realistic chance going into next week as well in Dubai. So I guess it's a nice thing that a win would certainly be welcome but not totally necessary. But obviously a win would make life a lot easier."

Rory McIlroy's Abu Dhabi record