Rory McIlroy has identified his highlights of his iconic 2025 season, but the Masters champion and Ryder Cup hero says nothing compares to sharing the experience with his daughter
Rory McIlroy has loved sharing his career-defining season with his daughter, Poppy(Image: Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has enjoyed a career-defining season highlighted by Masters and Ryder Cup glories, but he believes the enduring memories will be sharing the experiences with his daughter, Poppy.
McIlroy ended a decade-long drought to win his fifth major championship, defeating Justin Rose in a dramatic playoff at Augusta National in April to slip on the Green Jacket and become just the sixth man to complete the career grand slam.
The five-time major champion went on to play a talismanic role in Europe’s Ryder Cup win at Bethpage Black, and McIlroy’s triumphs this season have led to an award being named after him.
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The 36-year-old also tasted victory at iconic venues TPC Sawgrass and Pebble Beach, and he produced a remarkable comeback to win the Irish Open at The K Club. It has been a year of adventure for McIlroy, too, playing in India for the first time last month, and he will make a long-awaited return to Australia in December.
Through it all, McIlroy has had his wife, Erica, and their five-year-old daughter, Poppy, by his side, and ahead of this week’s DP World Tour Championship finale in Dubai, the Northern Irishman explained how fatherhood has altered his perspective on life and golf.
“I had a great time in India. I don’t know if I have one lasting memory. I guess I’ll remember not hitting driver for four days. But the hospitality, the welcome, the generosity of the people there, it was absolutely amazing,” McIlroy told reporters when asked about his highlights of the season.
The McIlroy family has enjoyed an unforgettable year(Image: Getty Images)
“I enjoy the travel. I enjoy playing in different parts of the world. I enjoy seeing different parts of the world. I haven’t played in the Melbourne Sandbelt since 2007, so it will be really good to go back there and play the Australian Open in Melbourne.
“But it’s been something that I think as you get older and maybe you hopefully become more well-rounded as a person, you start to appreciate these things a little bit more.
“It’s amazing to bring Poppy to some of these countries and show her different cultures and show her that not everyone in the world is the same and people live differently, and teaching her those things and teaching her how to be welcoming of different cultures and understanding of different cultures has been really important as well. It’s been great. She’s only five years old but she’s a very well-travelled little girl.”
McIlroy said he feels happier than ever. An enormous weight of expectation has been lifted from his shoulders on the course, and he has been freed from the strain of the politics and division of the PGA Tour-LIV Golf civil war. The world No. 2 has also found joy in his personal life after a turbulent 2024.
He added: “I don’t think my desire’s gone. It’s certainly not gone. But I think it’s just one of those things where I’m not going to have to pick and choose where to sort of place my desire and what I want my goals to be.
“Yeah, I’m certainly not less driven, but maybe just more driven in focused areas. Yeah, I don’t feel like chasing as much anymore. I’m not out chasing the Grand Slam. I’m not chasing these things. I’m very content with what I’ve done in the game. I’m still driven to do more, but you know, it’s sort of a pinpoint to drive in certain directions.
“I have a clear head and I’m out of all the political stuff in golf, basically, and I can just focus on playing and playing where I want to and making myself competitively happy by playing in the tournaments that I want to play.
“And then having more time to make myself personally happy with doing the things I want to do away from golf, travelling with my family and showing my daughter different parts of the world and doing things like that I think is a very nice place to be in life.”
