ABU DHABI: Rory McIlroy is aiming to turn his remarkable record in Abu Dhabi into a long-awaited victory as he hunts history at the DP World Tour Play-Offs.

The Northern Irishman arrives at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, staged by the DP World Tour and Abu Dhabi Sports Council, in the unfamiliar position of chaser as he seeks a record-equaling eighth Race to Dubai title and fifth in a row.

He now sits third in the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World behind leader Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed, but with enhanced points on offer at the fourth Rolex Series event of the season, any of those three or fourth-placed Casey Jarvis could end the week on top.

Out of those four, history would suggest the advantage would lie with McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman having four second and six third-place finishes at this event — two of those thirds coming at Yas Links in the last two seasons.

He also has seven wins in the UAE in the neighboring Emirate of Dubai — where we head next week for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship — and would dearly love to complete his unfinished business in Abu Dhabi.

“I feel like the UAE in general has been a good place for me,” he said. “It’s crazy to think that the 15 years that I’ve been coming here with how many times I’ve been in contention, I haven’t been able to get over the line.

“Hopefully, this year I give myself another chance. I feel like we played at Abu Dhabi Golf Club for a lot of years and then from coming here recently, the course is definitely growing on me. I think the first time I played it, I probably didn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy it now.

“I think a big part of that is conditioning of the course and how great the greens are and the surrounds, and the fairways and everything.

“I’d love to win. I need a big week to give myself a real chance going into Dubai next week, as well. Hopefully I play well and at least give myself another chance.”

A man educated in the history of the game, career Grand Slam winner McIlroy already shares the record for most Major wins by a European and cut an emotional figure when he matched Seve Ballesteros’ haul of six Harry Vardon Trophies in 2024.

He is now looking to match Colin Montgomerie’s all-time tally, an achivement that has been high on his list since he started his season in Australia almost 12 months ago.

“It’s always a goal,” he said. “You just hope you play well in the big tournaments early in the year so you give yourself a chance at this time of the year to win it.

“Hopefully, the experience of playing this course a few times and then the experience of being in this position of trying to win season-long races, whether it be in Europe or America, and having done that for quite a few years, hopefully that experience gives me a little bit of an edge.”

McIlroy will play round one in the company of his two closest rivals, reigniting a history with Reed that has seen the pair go head-to-head on several occasions, most notably at the 2016 Ryder Cup and 2023 Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

It will, however, be the first time he has played alongside Chacarra and he is looking forward to seeing the Spaniard up close.

“I think just from watching him, he seems to excel on difficult golf courses,” McIlroy said. “So, I’d say he’s got a good attitude and the right attitude about how he does things.

“It looks like he’s quite a feel player — sort of hits a lot of different shots. But I’m looking forward to playing with him here over the next couple of days. He’s had a great season.

“I’m sure he’s very high on confidence at the minute, too. It will be interesting. Patrick obviously in there as well.

“I know I need a good week this week and we’re going to be playing alongside each other. So, we are going to be keeping an eye and seeing how each other is doing but I’m excited for that.”