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one thing rory mcilroy displayed this year is a sharp learning curve. the guy who spit the bit during the final round of the masters and then raced to victory in the u.s. open clearly figured something out between augusta national and congressional. now it seems he has learned another lesson: less is sometimes more. after a sluggish 11th-place finish sunday in the dubai world championship, the 22-year-old from northern ireland pulled out of this week’s thailand golf championship, saying he was still weak from dengue fever, which he says he got playing in either south korea or china. since october, rory has been on the road almost constantly, playing the grand slam of golf in bermuda before a swing through asia that included non-european tour events at the shanghai masters, where he won $2 million, and the omega mission hills world cup before going to dubai. the guess here is mcilroy, who will be a pga tour member next year, will do a little less globetrotting in 2012. a player’s legacy in pro golf is all about the majors—meaning the masters in augusta, not the one in shanghai. all rory has to do is ask colin montgomerie or lee westwood. —R.S.