Tuesday 15 December 2015 14:02, UK
Rory McIlroy continued his dominance as Europe’s No 1 by being named the European Tour’s Golfer of the Year for a third time in four seasons.
The panel, made up of members of the golf media, selected McIlroy after the world No 3 claimed three titles and the Race to Dubai crown during another successful campaign.
Just how impressive was McIlroy during 2015? We look back at his season highlights…
Omega Dubai Desert Classic
Six years on from winning his maiden professional title at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, McIlroy won the tournament for a second time after cruising to a three-shot victory over Alex Noren.
The-then world No 1 got his week off to a solid start with a six-under 66, only to move in to the halfway lead with a birdie-filled 64 during the second round.
A flying start to Saturday saw McIlroy temporarily storm in to a six-shot lead, with a back-nine stutter seeing that advantage reduced to four strokes heading in to the final day.
McIlroy barely needed to get out of first gear to see out his victory and would have won by a more convincing margin had Noren not birdied his final three holes.
WGC-Cadillac Match Play
He may have missed out on watching the Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao showdown in Las Vegas, but McIlroy still had weekend to remember by battling to Match Play victory.
McIlroy had planned to make the short flight from TPC Harding and watch the heavyweight clash, but instead gave his tickets to Lee Westwood after his quarter final clash with Paul Casey went to extra holes.
Having edged past Billy Horschel in his must-win group game, McIlroy wasted no time in thrashing Hideki Matsuyama to reach the last eight.
After dispatching Casey early on Sunday morning at the 22nd hole, McIlroy nailed a late eagle putt to beat Jim Furyk before seeing off Gary Woodland 4&2 in the final.
DP World Tour Championship
The Race to Dubai was set for its closest finish yet when McIlroy and Danny Willett went in to the final event spit by just 1,613 points, but the Northern Irishman soon changed that by taking the season-ending title.
McIlroy was convinced he had a low round him when he went in to the weekend four off the pace and made a move on long-time leader Andy Sullivan with a third-round 65.
Although Sullivan briefly held a three-shot cushion during the final day, McIlroy fought back and clung on to a one-shot advantage by sinking a 30-foot bogey at the 17th.
With Sullivan failing to find a bogey at the last, a par was enough for the world No 3 to top the Race to Dubai standings for a second year running.
Best of the rest
Two weeks before his first victory of 2015, McIlroy opened the season with a runner-up finish at the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, ending one stroke behind shock winner Gary Stal after Martin Kaymer's final-round collapse.
A tied-ninth finish at the WGC-Cadillac Championship was followed by a fourth place showing at the Masters, where a slow start to the week left him six adrift of runaway champion Jordan Spieth.
After missing the cut in his defence of his BMW PGA Championship title, McIlroy also made an early exit for a third year running as tournament host of the Irish Open, leading to the 26-year-old taking a couple of weeks off before the US Open.
Despite a strong finish to the week at Chambers Bay, McIlroy's six under 66 on the final day still saw him fall someway short of Spieth at the top of the leaderboard
Injury meant McIlroy had to miss both the Scottish Open and his defence of the Open Championship, not returning to competitive action until finishing the PGA Championship in 17th spot.
With Keith Pelley backing the decision to allow McIlroy to compete in fewer events due to "exceptional circumstances", the then-world No 2 didn't have to feature again on the European Tour until the Final Series, following a tied-sixth showing at the Turkish Airlines Open with a tied-11th finish a week later in Shanghai prior to his season-ending victory.
