DP World Tour names annual award after Rory McIlroy

An award bearing Rory McIlroy's name will be introduced on the DP World Tour next season.

The Rory McIlroy Award will be presented annually to the member of the Europe-based tour who has the top performance in the season's four major tournaments. The winner will total the highest number of Race to Dubai points from the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open.

With his win in the Masters Tournament in April, McIlroy became the first European -- sixth player overall -- to win the career grand slam.

McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is the fifth person to have an award named for him on the European circuit. He joins Spain's Seve Ballesteros, winner of 90 international tournaments, including five major championships, and a Ryder Cup legend; Harry Vardon, an Englishman with six wins at The Open around the turn of the 20th century; Sir Henry Cotton, a three-time Open winner; and John Jacobs, the European tour's founding father who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.

McIlroy said he was honored to join these legends after chasing some of those awards for 18 years.

"To have something named after you, that will be presented to future generations of players, is a huge honor and it is very humbling," he said Tuesday in advance of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

"It certainly means a lot to me because the DP World Tour was where I started my career. I've always loved playing on it and, of course, representing Europe and the tour in the Ryder Cup."

McIlroy will not be eligible to win the trophy himself.

He said that when he was approached about the concept of the award after the Masters, he was hesitant.

"My first inclination was it's a bit soon, a bit early," the 36-year-old said. "And the more I thought about it, I'm not going to be around forever playing."

This weekend, McIlroy will be striving to win his seventh Harry Vardon Trophy, given to the Race to Dubai winner.

Guy Kinnings, the DP World Tour CEO, said it's an honor well-deserved for McIlroy.

"This new award will be a permanent legacy that we hope will inspire future generations of DP World Tour members aiming to follow in Rory's footsteps on golf's biggest stage," Kinnings said.

"Rory has already made such an immense contribution to our tour and to golf in general across his career to date. He is also a wonderful ambassador for global golf."

--Field Level Media