Rory McIlroy has praised Scottish golf legend Colin Montgomerie ahead of this week’s DP World Tour Championship, calling his record “underrated” despite the level of competition he faced in his prime. As McIlroy prepares for the season finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates, he holds a commanding 767-point lead in the Race to Dubai standings and has the chance to make more history.

The Northern Irishman is chasing his fourth consecutive Race to Dubai title. A win this week would give him his seventh overall, moving him past Seve Ballesteros and placing him just one short of Montgomerie’s all-time record of eight.

Speaking ahead of the event, McIlroy pointed out that Montgomerie’s consistency and success during the 1990s often don’t get the recognition they deserve.

“There’s a lot of people that can have a good year run or a good two-year run, but to sustain that for seven years straight, you know, and win eight order of merits, it probably doesn’t get talked about enough,” McIlroy said.

“Especially in that golden age of European golf where he’s going up against [Nick] Faldo and [Sandy] Lyle and [Bernard] Langer and Woosie [Ian Woosnam]. I’m not saying this isn’t a pretty good generation, too, but he had to fend off some pretty good opposition.”

Before the Race to Dubai was introduced, Europe’s season-long competition was known as the Order of Merit, and Colin Montgomerie dominated it between 1993 and 1999, winning seven straight titles before adding his eighth in 2005.

The 62-year-old Scotsman remains one of the most accomplished figures in European golf, with an estimated $55 million net worth, according to Celebrity Net Worth. He has 31 European Tour victories and was named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 1988.

For McIlroy, this week is even more special. The DP World Tour has announced the creation of the Rory McIlroy Award, a new annual honor named after the five-time major winner and Europe’s first golfer to complete the career Grand Slam.

DP World Tour introduces a new award named after Rory McIlroy

The new Rory McIlroy Award will recognize the DP World Tour member who performs best across the four major championships. It will debut in 2026, rewarding the player who accumulates the most Race to Dubai points from the Masters, PGA Championship, U.S. Open and The Open.

“To have something named after you, that will be presented to future generations of players, is a huge honor and it is very humbling. 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 said.

Rory McIlroy’s win at the Masters earlier this year made him the sixth golfer in men’s history to complete the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. The introduction of this award places McIlroy among other DP World Tour greats who already have honors named after them, including Seve Ballesteros, Harry Vardon, Sir Henry Cotton and John Jacobs.