Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland has been granted a special exemption by the European Tour to play in its Final Series, keeping alive his chances to win the Race to Dubai for the second straight season and the third time overall.
McIlroy, the world No. 1, leads the point standings, has played in only nine Euro Tour events this season because he missed the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, The Open Championship and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational because of a left ankle injury.
European Tour rules stipulate that players must compete in at least l3 events to be eligible for the Final Series.
“I have spent the last two weeks examining every possible solution, and I have spoken with Rory and his team, as well as independent medical advisers and some prominent players,” Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, said of the decision.
“I am convinced that he could not commit to any further tournament participation without risking further injury and persistent weakness to the ankle in the future.”
McIlory, who is playing this week in the second round of the FedEx Cup playoffs on the PGA Tour in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, has committed to play three more events on the Euro Tour this season.
The Final Series begins with the Turkish Airlines Open at the end of October, followed by the WGC-HSBC Champions event and BMW Masters–both in China–and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November.
