(Reuters) - Rory McIlroy sealed top place in the DP World Tour rankings on Sunday without hitting a shot as none of his closest challengers can now catch him after the end of the penultimate event of the season at Sun City.
Northern Irishman McIlroy, with 5,164.5 points going into the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this week, has now finished top of the formerly named European Tour money list five times, first in 2012 and again in 2014, 2015, and last year.
McIlroy, who made $7.48 million in prize money in nine tour events this year, is 2,083 points ahead of second-placed Jon Rahm, the Masters champion, with Adrian Meronk third.
Poland’s Meronk played in this weekend’s Nedbank Challenge at Sun City, where he added 94.5 points after finishing 15th.
The tournament in South Africa was won by American Max Homa, who finished four shots ahead of Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard.
The top 50 finishers in the Race to Dubai rankings will compete for a $10 million purse at Jumeirah Golf Estate starting Thursday.