LONDON: Ryder Cup star Rory McIlroy hopes to cap an already stellar year by marking his father's 55th birthday on Sunday with victory in the Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

The Northern Irishman won two of this year's four major championships, the British Open and US PGA, with the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in between giving McIlroy three tournament victories in three starts -- having already lifted the BMW PGA Championship trophy.