Rory McIlroy and Gareth Bale joined forces to take out a hovering drone on the range at the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi – with the pro-golfing legend landing an unbelievable shot to silence critics

McIlroy is eyeing the Race to Dubai title (Image: Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy spectacularly knocked a drone out of the sky with an impressive strike at the HSBC Championship’s driving range in Abu Dhabi.

The 35 year old finished in joint-third place following a stunning final round of 62, virtually clinching the Harry Vardon Trophy. During the event, McIlroy teamed up with ex-Real Madrid star Gareth Bale for a one-of-a-kind challenge on the range, where they aimed to hit drones flying above.

And it didn’t take long for McIlroy to hit the target, sending the drone spiralling down. Bale, who is passionate about golf, had several near misses before McIlroy’s successful shot brought the drone down.

The two sports icons celebrated with cheers and a handshake, as Bale cheered: “Let’s go home, it’s a wrap.” McIlroy wrapped up a stunning final round at Yas Links, nabbing a joint-third finish at the HSBC Championship.

He was a mere three strokes behind the winner Paul Waring, marking his first triumph on the DP World Tour after half a decade’s wait, reports the Express. Looking nailed-on for the Race to Dubai’s top berth, McIlroy has Thriston Lawrence trailing by around 1,800 points before the season’s big finish in Jumeirah Golf Estates next week.

Post-match reflections saw McIlroy admit: “I do feel in a good position. I saw Thriston making a charge today and I was keeping one eye on the leader board and looking at what he was doing. I saw he posted 20.” He added: “Every shot counts at this moment in time and I was glad to make the four at the last and at least give myself half a chance at this tournament this week but also give myself a little bit more of a cushion going into Dubai next week as well.”

A further victory for McIlroy would put him just two shy of Colin Montgomerie’s record eight titles, amassed between 1993 and 2005, and the Northern Irishman recently revealed that the prospect of surpassing this record before he hangs up his clubs is a driving force for him.

He said: “I would like to go down as the most successful European of all time. Obviously, Race to Dubai wins would count to that, but also major championships. Hopefully I’ve got a few more Ryder Cups ahead of me as well. I think that is a goal that’s quite attainable over the next 10 years.”

It comes after McIlroy was branded “boring” by Tommy Fleetwood last week, as he enjoyed a 1,572-point lead over Lawrence headed into the final two events of the DP World Tour. The Englishman explained: “It’d be nice to have a bit of jeopardy going into the final event and for it not to be already decided,” before joking: “Rory McIlroy is boring, isn’t he?”

A $10,000,000 purse is up for grabs at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Fire Course later this week, when the DP World Tour Championship comes to a close. McIlroy’s T3 means that Lawrence still has a chance of upsetting the pro and denying him of the title, despite sitting a comfortable 1785.02 points ahead at the time of writing.