Rory McIlroy plans to reduce the number of tournaments he plays next year after a punishing schedule throughout 2024.
The 35-year-old began the year with two events in Dubai before preparations for April’s Masters started in earnest, with McIlroy adding the Valero Texas Open and the Cognizant Classic to his already busy schedule as he attempted to complete his career Grand Slam at the Augusta National Major.
McIlroy fell short of that dream, but despite that disappointment, afterwards, he admitted he was “loving golf at the moment,” and sure enough, the busy schedule continued.
There was success along the way, too, with wins at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Shane Lowry and at the Wells Fargo Championship, but his only notable break came with a four-week reset after the crushing disappointment of defeat to Bryson DeChambeau at June's US Open.
Following his finish of 12th at the Tour Championship, McIlroy still has commitments this year, including the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth later this month, but he admitted afterwards that he couldn’t keep up the pace in 2025.
He said: “Yeah. My season is not over, obviously. I've still got five events left to play. But yeah, it's been - I feel like the tournaments came thick and fast, and obviously with the Olympics thrown in there, as well, this year, it sort of condensed everything a bit.
“It's been a long season, and I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year and going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover.”
Despite that, McIlroy’s form has generally held up well since his Pinehurst No.2 near miss, including top-five finishes at the Genesis Scottish Open and while representing Ireland at the Olympics.
However, his six-tournament run since July also included another disappointment at a Major, with a missed cut at The Open, adding to the sense that his tactic of loading his schedule had only been partially successful.
When asked how many tournaments he will have played by the end of the year, McIlroy replied: “27.”
He was then asked how many is too many. His answer was the same: “27.” He continued: “I'm usually sort of like a 22 sort of person. But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn't have the responsibilities that I do now.”
So, how many events can we expect McIlroy to play in 2025? He answered that too: “I'm going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think.”
