McIlroy doubles up on Tour wins

Golf: Rory McIlroy has added a European Tour money list victory to the PGA Tour win he had already claimed this season. The Northern Irishman rallied to third in the Singapore Open but faced an anxious wait as Matteo Manassero and Louis Oosthuizen contested a play-off.

The world number one needed the Italian to claim his third Tour win if he was to emulate the achievement of Luke Donald last year, and the 19-year-old obliged with an eagle on the third play-off hole.

Both Manassero and Oosthuizen, who moved to fourth in the 'Race to Dubai', birdied the par-five 18th in regulation to finish 13 under and set up the showdown. McIlroy had eagled the last with a 30-foot putt to claim third on 10-under after a final round six-under-par 65.

He was one clear of halfway leader Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, who closed with a 68, while three-time champion Adam Scott of Australia finished tied for fifth place alongside Italy's Francesco Molinari, the pair completing the tournament on eight-under 276.

McIlroy finished with a flourish but, like all champions, he was disappointed not to win.

He struggled to maintain his focus and rhythm at a tournament hampered by three lengthy weather delays on the first two days but he was back to his brilliant best today, carding a six-under 65 to finish on 10-under 274.

"I played really well this afternoon... no bogeys and finished with an eagle on the last it was very nice," McIlroy said afterwards. "I played well all week but just didn't convert the birdie chances I gave myself."

"I missed a lot of putts over the last four days. If I had holed a few more it would have been a different story. I am very happy how I played today and how I finished."

Winning the order-of-merit title with two events remaining is a reward for "consistency", he said, but added that the "money list has been cheapened a little bit by not having the leading players at events towards the end of the year."

"I am going to end up playing 13 or 14 events on the European Tour this year. That's obviously a lot less than a lot of other people but I have played in the bigger tournaments with the higher prize funds, which has allowed me to get to the top."

McIlroy will defend his Hong Kong Open title next week and he goes there on the back of a second and a third in his last two events.

"Finishing in the top two or three isn't too bad but I said I wanted to win at least once more before the end of the season and I still have two more tournaments in which to do that."

Following the season-ending Dubai World Championships McIlroy will take a break and that start looking at how he can make himself a better player in 2013.

"I will keep working on different aspects of the game to improve next year,' he added. "I feel I have got a lot more comfortable at hitting left to right which has made a huge difference to right-hand pin positions. It's been nice that year-after-year my results have improved and I would like to keep that going and like to feel I am a better golfer next year than I was this year.

"I have got more shots, am more experienced and more consistent."