Rory McIlroy hints at big change heading into 2025

Despite adding another two victories to his name, Rory McIlroy knows that the 2024 PGA Tour season was not one of his best campaigns.

And, as a result, the Irishman is planning to make a significant change as he gears up for bigger and better things in 2025.

McIlroy, 35, brought the curtain down on a tumultuous year on the US-based circuit with a back-door top-ten finish at the Tour Championship.

Alongside wins in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and Wells Fardo Championship, that would add up to a fantastic year for most golfers.

But McIlroy is not most golfers.

So whilst he acknowledges he’s had a “great” year, he knows he is capable of much, much more.

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And he’s determined to make 2025 the year he rediscovers his very best form.

“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,” said the four-time major champion.

“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 I still feel a little bit of that hangover.”

McIlroy, who still has five events left to play before the year’s end, anticipates that he will have pegged it up 27 times in 2024.

“I’m usually sort of like a 22 sort of person,” he added. “But 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.”

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For those keeping count, that means we could see McIlroy nine less times in 2025. But if that means he closes the gap on Scottie Scheffler, so be it.

“I feel like he just sort of brings the same demeanor to the course every single day, no matter what position on the leaderboard he’s in,” said McIlroy of the new FedEx Cup champion. “He’s just amazing to just watch the way he manages himself around the golf course.

“We’ll look back on 2024 and it’s obviously one of the best individual years that a player has had for a long time.

“The one thing I’ve always admired about Scottie is the amount of bogey-free rounds he shoots.

“If you just go back over the last two, three years and you look at how many rounds he shoots that he’ll shoot like four-under par, no bogeys, it doesn’t look spectacular at all, but it’s just so solid. He doesn’t really put himself out of position.

“When you don’t make a ton of bogeys, the field has got to do something really special to keep up.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor