McIlroy says DeChambeau would bring 'eyeballs' but is running out of options
Rory McIlroy said in Dubai on 10 November 2026, ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, that Bryson DeChambeau would bring more "eyeballs" to the DP World Tour but appears to be "running out of options". McIlroy also noted DeChambeau can apply for DP World Tour membership as a recent major champion, a route that could give the 33-year-old the chance to earn back his PGA Tour card for 2028.
DeChambeau's competitive future is uncertain following the collapse of LIV Golf, and the two-time US Open champion last week said he will approach his next move with "humility and respect". The possibility of him joining the DP World Tour next season has been raised because of his recent major status.
On DeChambeau's impact McIlroy said: "I think a name like Bryson DeChambeau and everything he brings with him, good and bad, he brings eyeballs, which is a good thing for tournaments," said McIlroy, who was pipped to the 2024 US Open in dramatic fashion by DeChambeau. "Honestly, I'm certainly not in his shoes, and nor would I ever want to be but it doesn't seem like he's got many options. "You know, if he wants to play competitive golf, it doesn't seem like he's got many options."
McIlroy was speaking to reporters in Dubai before the DP World Tour Championship as he chases a record-equalling eighth season-long title. The six-time major winner trails Spain's Eugenio Chacarra by 533 points in the Race to Dubai standings going into the final event in Dubai, which offers 2,000 points to the winner.
Nine players — Chacarra, McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Casey Jarvis, Aaron Rai, Jon Rahm, Ryan Fox, Jayden Schaper and Daniel Hillier — can still clinch the Race to Dubai title, and McIlroy would guarantee his fifth straight crown with victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week.
McIlroy's record at the Dubai tournament includes three wins and a play-off defeat by England's Matt Fitzpatrick last year. "I'm very excited to be back here, very excited to be in contention for the eighth," said the 37-year-old. "I made some ground up last week, maybe not as much as I wanted, but I felt like it was a step in the right direction. "Getting back to a place where I played, I played well and I had a lot of success, even last year in the play-off with Matt, it's been a course that's been very good to me over the years, and I have a lot of experience on it and a lot of experience up at the top end of the leaderboard."
An eighth Race to Dubai title would draw McIlroy alongside Colin Montgomerie, who won seven straight European Tour Order of Merit titles in the 1990s before adding an eighth in 2005. With McIlroy chasing a fifth successive Race to Dubai title, he spoke about his pride in the "consistency" and "longevity" of his career: "I think this will be the 15th or 16th year in a row that I will have finished the year in the top 10 in the world rankings," said the world number two. "There may be a couple others that have done that before. Yeah, I'm very proud of that. I think that's maybe an underrated part of careers, is that longevity piece. "I was very lucky to start so young and get my tour card at 18, and I've stayed pretty much injury-free throughout my career. "And I've kept working and trying to get better at certain aspects of the game and always tried to see weaknesses or be critical of myself and try to get better at them."
The DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates this week is the season finale where 2,000 Race to Dubai points are available to the winner and will decide the season-long standings.