One year after playing substantially more golf than in the past, Rory McIlroy says he will cut back his schedule significantly in 2025.
Speaking to James Corrigan of The Telegraph, McIlroy revealed that he hopes to play in 18 or 19 events in 2025. Next week’s DP World Tour Championship, in which McIlroy is all but assured to win a sixth Order of Merit, will mark his 27th tournament on either the DP World Tour or PGA Tour this season.
“There’s a few tournaments that I played this year that I don’t usually play and that I might not play next year,” McIlroy said to The Telegraph.
“I played the Cognizant [Classic] in Palm Beach Gardens, [the Valero Texas Open in] San Antonio, and the [RBC Heritage in] Hilton Head. And I’ll probably not play the first playoff event in Memphis. I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings.”
McIlroy began his 2024 season in the Middle East, losing to Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational. He then bounced back with a victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament he will play again in January 2025.
After his victory in Dubai, McIlroy began his PGA Tour schedule at Pebble Beach and then played in five more events before The Masters. As part of his prep for Augusta National, McIlroy wanted to play more, not less. But unfortunately for the Northern Irishman, that did not translate into winning the Green Jacket, something he has been chasing his whole career. A win at Augusta would give McIlroy the career grand slam.
Nevertheless, he will not play as much on the PGA Tour next season, hoping to arrive at the four majors feeling refreshed and ready to go. He will likely make his PGA Tour season debut at Pebble Beach again, and then play at the Genesis Invitational at Riveria. His next event will likely come at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando, not the Cognizant Classic. Then, McIlroy will play The Players, likely his last event before The Masters in April.
What follows after April remains to be seen, but it sounds like he will not play in the FedEx St. Jude Championship, either. Yet, these developments should be no major surprise. McIlroy, as a member of the Transactional Committee, is working to help negotiate a concrete agreement with the PGA Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). He also had a whirlwind of a 2024 season, which saw a U.S. Open heartbreak and unfortunate off-the-course developments in his family life. Playing 27 events obviously takes a toll, too, so be prepared to see less of McIlroy, not more of him, in 2025.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
