"I love playing golf in the Middle East"- Rory McIlroy commits to DP World Tour Championship tournament, aims for third straight Race to Dubai crown

Rory McIlroy is currently taking some time off from golf, but he will be back in action soon. Ahead of that, he's committed to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the DP World Tour Championship in November.

McIlroy has participated in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on 12 occasions He has been the runner-up four times, with four third-place results and a T5 as well. He has only missed the cut once.

Mcllroy is currently sitting at five Race to Dubai wins, leaving him three shy of Colin Montgomerie's record eight Harry Vardon trophies. A victory in the HSBC Championship will help him get closer to Montgomerie's record. Considering that he hasn't won the event so far, he will be highly motivated.

He said, via Golf Monthly:

“It’s no secret that I love playing golf in the Middle East, and having the opportunity to play in these two events back-to-back will be a great way to end the season. I’d love to lift the trophy in Abu Dhabi and have the chance to top the Race to Dubai Rankings again.”

McIlroy has three consecutive Race to Dubai Rankings wins and five overall. A sixth here would bring him into a tie with Seve Ballesteros. Hence, it could be a monumental year for the Irishman.

For now, McIlroy is off the course. He will return for the Genesis Scottish Open in July after taking a few weeks off, giving himself plenty of time to get back to full strength for the HSBC Golf Championship.

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Major winner opens up on Rory McIlroy's disappointment

By the time Rory McIlroy takes the course for the HSBC Golf Championship to try and win another significant event, he will hopefully have left the sting of U.S. Open failure well behind him.

McIlroy had made 496 straight putts of three feet or less before missing two in a downfall that allowed Bryson DeChambeau to claim victory. Padraig Harrington, a fellow Irishman and major winner, offered his take on the matter.

Via Express, he said:

“I don’t know whether he took too many waggles, too many looks or too little looks. But Rory will know, and he can have a look at that and see whether that was the issue."

McIlroy, according to Harrington, would be the only one to know if he was trying to catch up:

“That’s probably the worst thing you can do in a routine is you’re in the middle of it and you’re trying to catch up to what am I meant to be focused on?"

Had McIlroy known where he needed to go from the beginning, according to Harrington, he might not have rushed into a miss and would have had more time to concentrate on the shot itself.