Rory McIlroy makes drastic schedule change

Rory McIlroy plans to make a huge cutback to his 2025 playing schedule – including skipping one of the PGA Tour’s FexEx Cup playoff events.

McIlroy told the Telegraph’s James Corrigan in Abu Dhabi that he intends to cut his schedule by more than a quarter after a draining year on the road.

The Northern Irishman is making his 26th and penultimate start of the season at Yas Links for the first of two DP World Tour playoff events. Next week’s DP World Tour Championship finale in Dubai, where he is odds on to win a sixth order of merit title, will be his last.

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A much lighter calendar is anticipated for next year, with McIlroy planning on only playing around 20 tournaments.

“There’s a few tournaments that I played this year that I don’t usually play and that I might not play next year,” the 35-year-old said. “I played the Cognizant [Classic] in Palm Beach Gardens, [the Texas Open in] San Antonio and the [RBC Heritage in] Hilton Head.

“And I’ll probably not play the first play-off event in Memphis [FedEx St Jude Championship]. I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year, and only moved down one spot in the play-off standings.”

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McIlroy is clearing prioritising quality over quantity as he looks to avoid burnout in his mid-thirties. He has spent the last three weeks ‘locked in the studio’ working on a swing change that he is testing for the first time this week at Yas Links.

“Well, at this point in my career,” McIlroy added, “hey, I’m 35 and have been out here for 17, 18 years, so I’m just going to go to the places that I enjoy and where I play well. Look I’ve done the hard slog, I’ve done that sort of 25 to 30 events a year. And I’m not getting any younger.”

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.