Rory McIlroy hopes daughter Poppy now realises why he's not always at home

Rory McIlroy admits he hopes his young daughter Poppy now realises why he's not always at home in time for dinner and bedtime after watching her father win both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai on Sunday.

McIlroy, 35, spoke openly about what it meant for him to win in front of his wife Erica Stoll and their four-year-old daughter Poppy at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. 

It marked the first time that Poppy had been old enough to realise what her Dad had been able to achieve on the golf course. 

McIlroy brought out Erica and Poppy onto the 18th green to soak in the victory celebrations.

Poppy was seen standing up against both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai trophies while holding up 'six' on her hands.

That was after McIlroy had won his sixth Race to Dubai, matching the feat of late great Seve Ballesteros.

McIlroy is now just two more Race to Dubai titles away from matching all-time European Tour record holder Colin Montgomerie.

That's a record the Northern Irishman admits is very much one of his remaining career goals along with completing the grand slam at The Masters.

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The four-time major champion collected a whopping $5m for his efforts on Sunday.

He won $3m for winning the DP World Tour Championship for a joint record third time, and a bonus $2m for winning the Race to Dubai for a third straight season and sixth overall. 

McIlroy entered the DP World Tour's new 'Green Room' on Sunday night where he spoke in more detail about winning in front of his wife Erica and daughter Poppy. 

After a rollercoaster season for McIlroy both on and off the course, the season-ending victory was understandably one that meant a great deal to him.

McIlroy announced in May that he was set to get divorced with Erica, but he then confirmed a month later their divorce was off the table. 

Scroll below to watch McIlroy's comments...

"To have Erica and Poppy here this week, yeah it means a lot," said McIlroy.

"It's the first one they've been at in a while, and for Poppy to now be old enough to sort of understand what's going on, you know I had to ask her this morning if I did win whether she would come onto the 18th green with me, so yeah, their support means the world to me. 

"To be able to show Poppy what happened today and maybe some of the reasons why I'm not around all of the time, because I'm, you know, working or practicing, hopefully she realises or hopefully she realises it's worthwhile I'm not there every night for dinner or for bedtime or whatever it is. But yeah, it's incredible that they were here with me this week and I'm excited to go and celebrate with them."

When pressed by the lady in the Green Room whether he had a message for Erica and Poppy, McIlroy replied as he took a deep breath: "I'd say that I love them, and I can't wait for this little bit of off-season that we have now. Poppy's very excited for Santa to come, so yeah just excited to spend a little bit more time with them and celebrate the holidays and put the clubs away for a while, so I'm a little more there and a little more present and hopefully they enjoy that."

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