The DP World Tour just made McIlroy the first active player with a permanent award

The DP World Tour doesn’t hand out permanent awards lightly. Now Rory McIlroy is getting one—while he’s still playing. Starting in 2026, the European circuit will present the Rory McIlroy Signature Performance Award annually, recognizing consistency across the season’s biggest events. It’s the first time an active player has received this honor on the DP World Tour, and the timing is remarkable: Rory just won the Masters and completed the career Grand Slam after an 11-year major drought.

What the Award Actually Measures

This isn’t about winning majors or topping money lists. The Rory McIlroy Award will go to the player with the best combined performance across the four majors, The Players Championship, and other designated big events. Think of it as rewarding the grinder who shows up when it matters most—not just the guy who gets hot for one week. It’s McIlroy’s entire career distilled into a trophy: elite week after week, major after major, now with all four major championships finally on his resume.

The Green Jacket That Changed Everything

Rory McIlroy is now a career Grand Slam winner. After 11 years without a major since 2014, he finally got the green jacket that eluded him and joined Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods as the only players with all four modern majors. That’s not just elite—that’s immortal. And now the DP World Tour is honoring him with a permanent award, cementing his place as the face of European golf who delivered when it mattered most.

Why the DP World Tour Is Making This Statement

McIlroy is the face of the DP World Tour. He’s been their most visible star, their most articulate defender during the LIV Golf chaos, and their bridge to the PGA Tour. While he plays most of his golf in America now, his roots are European, and the Tour is honoring that legacy. This award cements his place in European golf history—and now he’s done it with the career Grand Slam complete. Sometimes loyalty and leadership get rewarded, and sometimes that loyalty comes with a Masters victory to back it all up.

What Happens Next

The first Rory McIlroy Signature Performance Award will be presented after the 2026 season. Based on the criteria, Scottie Scheffler would’ve won it in 2024, not Rory. But that’s the beauty of it—this award exists not just for what McIlroy did last year, but for what he’s represented for two decades. He’s now a five-time major champion and career Grand Slam winner. He’s the guy who stayed loyal when others left. And he’s the first active player with a permanent DP World Tour award. Rory McIlroy’s legacy just went from great to all-time.