The questions Rory McIlroy found so annoying in the months after his greatest feat in golf still linger. Where is the next mountain? What else is there to achieve?
Now that he is nearing the end of a most sensational year, McIlroy realizes the answer lies in the form of another question.
What does it matter?
There is always something more, even if more resembles a molehill compared with winning the Masters for the career Grand Slam. McIlroy was reminded of that Tuesday at the DP World Tour Championship, where he is closing in on a seventh Race to Dubai title.
Colin Montgomerie holds the record of eight times being Europe’s No. 1 player.
“To get one closer to Monty would be amazing,” McIlroy said.
Career changing? Hardly. The European tour never named an award after Montgomerie as it did for McIlroy on Tuesday, given to the player who performs the best in the majors.
“I spent the last 18 years chasing,” McIlroy said, mentioning the Sir Henry Cotton Award for the best rookie, the Harry Vardon Award for the season title and the Seve Ballesteros Award as player of the year. McIlroy is not eligible for this latest award because his name is on it.
His legacy was established on a late Sunday afternoon at Augusta National when he hit a gap wedge to 3 feet for birdie to win a playoff over Justin Rose at the Masters, the final piece of a prize McIlroy had been chasing for more than a decade.
The chase is over, even if he hasn’t stopped running.
Slightly bigger than a molehill — but certainly not Everest — would be a gold medal. McIlroy will be 39 when he gets his next chance at Riviera for the Los Angeles Olympics.
Speaking of Riviera, that’s a course where he would love to win. Ditto for Muirfield Village at the Memorial, which he curiously skipped this year. He has reached No. 1 in the world nine times. He has three won three FedEx Cup titles.
What’s next? What does it matter?
“I don’t think my desire’s gone. It’s certainly not gone. But I think it’s just going one of those things where I’m not going to have to pick and choose where place my desire and what I want my goals to be,” he said.
“When I say I’m not chasing anything, I think if I focused my energy on certain tournaments and try to play well at certain tournaments, then Race to Dubai … it sort of takes care of itself,” he said. “So yeah, I guess you could say I’m still chasing that, but I think that’s just more a byproduct of playing the good golf that I know that I can.”
McIlroy is on what feels like a victory lap for 2025.
Scottie Scheffler is the No. 1 player in golf who had the best year with his two majors at the PGA Championship and the British Open at Royal Portrush. McIlroy would not trade his year with Scheffler or anyone else.
The Masters for the Grand Slam. Victories at Pebble Beach and the TPC Sawgrass. A putt on the final hole to win the Irish Open. Having the last word for a rude and ruthless crowd at Bethpage Black in the Ryder Cup.
He played in India for the first time. After the European tour’s postseason, he is headed to the Australian Open to play Royal Melbourne for the first time. There is big appearance money involved, sure. That doesn’t constitute a chase, either, not at McIlroy’s level.
It’s also a sign of what the immediate future might hold. He has said he plans to cut back his schedule without sacrificing time spent on the European tour. He will have played eight regular European tour events in 2025, the same number as last year.
“I think with the fractured nature of the men’s professional game at the minute, this tour needs all of its stars to step up and play in the big events,” McIlroy said. “I understand that I am one of those people and I want to do my utmost to help in whatever way that I can. I feel quite a responsibility to do that. And to try to make this tour as strong as it can possibly be.”
At this stage in his career, Europe brings comfort. He has a home outside London, though he still has his place in South Florida while playing the PGA Tour schedule. The Ryder Cup strengthens bonds.
“I enjoy the places that we play. I enjoy the people that play on the tour. I enjoy the people that work at the tour,” he said. “We’ve shared a lot great moments from Ryder Cups together and great times and it just feels a lot more like home.”
The majors are the priority. McIlroy is the only European with the career Grand Slam. Harry Vardon has the most majors (seven) of European-born players, two more than McIlroy. That’s not a summit to scale. It’s a number. There’s a difference now between winning and chasing.
McIlroy said a month after winning the Masters he was aware that no matter what else he achieved in golf, “that very well could be the highlight of my career.” That doesn’t mean he has lost interest in winning. He is looking forward without anything in his crosshairs.
“I’ve gotten everything that I ever thought I would out of the game,” he said in Abu Dhabi. “And now it’s about enjoying it and just trying to add.”
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On The Fringe analyzes the biggest topics in golf during the season. AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
