Rory McIlroy is the clear front

Long-standing European Race to Dubai record holder Colin Montgomerie has told Rory McIlroy that he’s the only golfer who’s in a strong position to break his record.

McIlroy, 35, a four-time major winner, has five Race to Dubai titles, and he’ll chase a sixth this year. Victory would push McIlroy two behind eight-time winner Montgomerie, who set the record in 2005.

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Montgomerie won seven in a row between 1993 and 1999, before enduring a six-year wait to win an eighth. McIlroy has competed in eight competitions, accumulating 3,236.93 points in the Race to Dubai, with the Northern Irishman commanding a big lead over Adam Scott.

“If Rory does it (catches up) in the Race to Dubai as they call it now, hopefully I’ll be able to fly out there and congratulate him because I’ll know how difficult it is to achieve that,” Montgomerie told the Daily Mail.

“He’s the only one that would really challenge (the record) at this stage. There might be someone else who comes along but he is the only one at the moment that has a possibility of doing it.

“Probably not seven in a row, but eight overall or maybe nine. So let’s hope I’m fit enough to fly to Dubai and congratulate him, come the time, because he was a rookie in my Ryder Cup team in 2010. There’s always a bond there, having captained a player.”

McIlroy is currently competing at the BMW Championship, where he is seven shots off leader Keegan Bradley, who’s Team USA’s Ryder Cup captain for 2025, and will likely be a direct rival to the European star. McIlroy has let his emotions get the best of him at times at the BMW Championship.

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Colin Montgomerie has won the competition 8 times and has wished McIlroy good luck ( Image: Getty)

McIlroy launched his driver into the nearby water after hitting his tee shot wide right on the 17th. He fished out the club and passed it to his caddie who dried it in a rather embarrassing scene.

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The Northern Irishman has endured a tough end to the season – which really started to unravel after his collapse at the US Open earlier in the summer. Having had a chance to win the major championship, which would have been his first in a decade, he carded a horrible back 9 to hand victory to the immense Bryson DeChambeau.

The BMW Championship and next week’s Tour Championship represent the last chance for McIlroy to end the year on a high ahead of a crucial off-season, before returning in 2025.

-runner to win a sixth Race to Dubai title, which would put him two off record holder Colin Montgomerie, who has backed the Northern Irishman to surpass him