Those in and around the Rory McIlroy The camp speaks of the “third act” of his career, and as the Northern Irishman enters his 18th season as a professional, it is now possible to envision the story one day becoming an adult.
The first act saw the prodigy become the protagonist as he turned all that potential and whispers into historical substance. McIlroy became the youngest European to win four majors and, along with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, one of three players in the modern era to reach the quartet before turning 25. “Rory has an opportunity to win 15 or 20 majors,” Nicklaus said. .
In the second act, the character developed and he excited his audience with the vulnerability he originally showed by bursting into tears following a 80 in the final round of the Masters with a green jacket in hand. He had overcome this adversity before and therefore possessed the resilience to do so again. Nothing should then put him off.
Except the midpoint, as is often the case, was to feature the former wonder boy becoming more aware of who he was and what he was capable of, and so the mentality changed. Glory became anticipated, assumed even, and despite the beauty remaining in this marvelous rhythm and movement, the ugly weaknesses were amplified.
Debate suddenly raged over whether the problem was between McIlroy’s ears or between his shoulder blades, particularly when it came to seemingly simple wedges angled into the green. It was complicated as the silverware continued to pile up, as did the riches and garlands, but the main harvest came to an increasingly worrying halt. What was only a question of when became a question of if. The wait was devouring.
A decade – The Lost Decade – has passed with McIlroy stuck on four, despite four second-place finishes and seven more top-five finishes. In these 10 years it has never been boring, as it has become the Fearless voice against rival Saudi-funded tour this led to an irrevocable change in his profession. He was a personality with a predilection for drama and sudden upheaval that raised fears of a chaotic psyche unsuited to such rational and intense discipline.
One of the final scenes of pandemonium consisted of McIlroy holding a two shots ahead with four to play at the US Open and they fooled three to hand the major to Bryson DeChambeau, a LIV celebrant and another candidate for the title of most interesting golfer on the planet. McIlroy left Pinehurst hurriedly and angrily that day, without congratulating the winner. Even though the year ends with more tinsel outside of the tournaments that really matter, the story is clearly desperate for a resolution. Her aestas horribilis required a radical overhaul.
And so comes 2025, with McIlroy telling us he may still have a decade left in the elite, but acknowledging that “time is running out” and “the window is slowly closing”. Inevitably, we quickly forged the meaning of a new, perhaps defining, chapter that will carry the story to its climax and then denouement, whether that be acclaimed sporting redemption or the taking of enlightening awareness that sometimes this is enough.
Which one will it be? If McIlroy seems determined “to do everything I can to have the best career possible”, this follower of stoicism also seems ready not only to accept his destiny but to rejoice in it. Fat love.
“I have to appreciate what I have done in my career and in my life and enjoy my success”
He’s approaching the point where he will have spent more time in the salaried ranks than as an amateur and now that his marriage is apparently arranged – he filed for divorce in May and withdrew it in June – this father of one has reoriented the emphasis is on “pleasure”. A surprising comment while on his way to a missed cut at the 2024 Open put this rewriting of priorities into perspective.
“I need to step back and appreciate what I’ve done in my career and in my life and enjoy my success,” McIlroy said. “I don’t really enjoy my success – and I haven’t, I would say, in five years. I haven’t had a vacation in probably four or five years. So I think it’s just a matter of taking a step back and having fun a little further away from my game. Have fun.
With his family, McIlroy traveled to New Zealand in December and, en route to Dubai for this week’s Desert Classic, he accompanied friends to watch Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion – not in a hospitality box but on the “Yellow Wall”. the largest standing terrace in European football. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” McIlroy said. “I just kind of had experiences that I never had before. It’s a question of balance. It doesn’t always have to be about golf.
McIlroy has a backcountry. He is immersed in the business world and involved in start-ups – TGL (Tomorrow’s Golf League), the indoor simulation league he co-owns with Woods, is just one of his investments – and with hostilities between LIV and Tours thawing, he no longer has to act as union representative. We will see him less on the floor. This year, McIlroy is reducing his schedule and competing wherever he wants.
“Hey, I’m 35 years old and I’ve been here half my life, so I’m just going to go to the places that I like and play well,” McIlroy said. Telegraph sport recently. “Look, I did the hard part, I did these kinds of 25 to 30 events a year. And I’m not getting any younger.
In another diversion, McIlroy vowed to maintain his DP World Tour appearances and reduce his PGA Tour schedule. He and his American wife, Erica, are building a house in Wentworth, Surrey, and intend to move there permanently by the time their daughter Poppy, now aged four, reaches high school age. There is a life plan and direction that perhaps did not exist before.
However, the ambitions remain and, apart from the majors, the Ryder Cup is at the top of them. “One of my career goals is to try to win another Ryder Cup away from home,” he said of New York in September. “I experienced it once, and it was absolutely incredible. And I would like to relive this experience. But this is becoming increasingly difficult to do. »
Nothing could be simpler when it comes to inheritance. April reminds him of this every year. The Masters is clearly his Kryptonite. His history with Augusta and his desperation to become the sixth male player to complete the career Grand Slam can be seen as spoiling his primordial aspirations. A failure among the cathedral pines releases his dementors and he must then attempt a hasty exorcism for the USPGA four weeks later, the US Open three weeks later, then the Open the following month.
“Smack! Smack! Smack!” and it’s over for another eight months, with barely time to think, let alone pull yourself together.
McIlroy needs peace within himself and a competitive calm to face this challenge. Those of us who admire him and believe that his talents and achievements are underrated and classify him as a superstar of British sport with the prefixed stature of Lewis Hamilton and Sir Andy Murray are busy finding positives in his apparent change in attitude and are increasingly optimistic. a new serenity could make the difference.
Yet we’ve been down this fairway before and won’t receive confirmation of any kind when it’s back on the sequence of a major with the return in hand. McIlroy’s many detractors – and there are a ridiculous number of them given his accomplishments and outspokenness – will roll their eyes and quip that they’ve read this particular script over and over again. Yet it may have an exciting conclusion. The most memorable third acts invariably are.