Golf fans will see less of Rory McIlroy next season, as the World No. 3 announced plans to reduce his schedule by up to nine tournaments in 2025.
The Northern Irishman was speaking after making his 21st start of the season at the Tour Championship, where he finished in a share of ninth at East Lake.
With upcoming appearances in the Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and DP World Tour Championship on the DP World Tour, along with one more event yet to be confirmed, McIlroy will have played a total of 27 tournaments in 2024.
In contrast, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler played his 20th event of 2024 at the Tour Championship, which will be his final tournament of the year, aside from the President’s Cup and a possible outing the Hero World Challenge in December.
After admitting that 27 events a season was his limit, McIlory went on to say that he won’t be repeating his hectic 2024 schedule next season.
“I’m usually sort of like a 22 sort of person,” said McIlroy, who is currently top of the Race to Dubai Rankings.
“But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn’t have the responsibilities that I do now.
“I’m going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think.”
Those events are likely to be cut from his PGA Tour schedule, with the World No.3 required to play a minimum of four DP World Tour events a year outside of the Major Championships if he is to retain membership and be eligible for the Ryder Cup.
With the four-time Major champion beginning his qualification for Luke Donald’s European side for 2025 at the Irish Open, McIlroy admitted next year’s edition of the biennial contest has been on his mind ever since victory in Rome last year.
“I think once Rickie gave Tommy that putt on the 16th with green, I started thinking about Bethpage,” he said.
“The qualifying started in Europe, and we’re all trying to get points on the board early to make sure that we don’t have to rely on a pick. I think that’s obviously the big thing.
“I think one of the great things that we did leading up to Rome is we pretty much had the team set a few months in advance, so hopefully we can do the same thing again and know the 12 that we’re bringing to New York pretty early.”
“We can then, I guess, think about pairings, think about all of those things that you need to so that once we get there a few weeks out, we’re prepared, and everyone knows what they’re doing.”
