Masters and Ryder Cup winner Rory McIlroy is competing at the DP World Tour Championship this weekend and revealed how he envisages the rest of his career panning out
Rory McIlroy has made an admission regarding his golfing future(Image: Getty)
Rory McIlroy says he must reduce his golfing schedule if he wants to play for another decade. The Northern Irishman celebrated victories at both the Masters and Ryder Cup this year.
The 36-year-old started the year in top form and arrived at Augusta National with high hopes of breaking a career-long duck. He did just that in April, securing his fifth major title and completing a career Grand Slam.
Later at the Ryder Cup in America, McIlroy contributed three-and-a-half points towards Team Europe’s resounding victory, establishing himself as a key player. English veteran Justin Rose joined him in New York two months ago.
When talking about 45-year-old Rose’s enduring career, McIlroy made a candid revelation about his own future. He also touched on when he might begin to cut back on the number of tournaments he competes in.
“I was really inspired by what Justin Rose did at Memphis this year,” said McIlroy at the DP World Tour Championship. “Then what he did at the Ryder Cup.
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“I look at what he does, you know, to play at this level at 45 years of age. I’d love to be able to say that I will hopefully be able to do the same thing in 10 years’ time.
McIlroy admires Rose’s longevity(Image: Getty)
“I look at him, I look at some of the things that he does. He’s got his own recovery trailer on tour, and he puts a lot of time into it just making sure that his body’s in the right place.
“I think if I want to play another 10 years at the highest level then I’m gonna have to scale back my schedule,” McIlroy added. “It’s a weird one. I want to play less every year to play more into the future, you know?
“I think, as the years go on, I’m going to try to pare it back to 20 [events] or try to get as close to 20 as possible,” the Northern Irishman continued.
“But the only reason is to look to the future and look to, okay, when I am Justin Rose’s age, I want to have the game and the stamina to play the way he’s playing at that age.”
Whilst the 36-year-old admits he could compete for another decade at the elite level before reducing his schedule, he hasn’t specified exactly when he plans to hang up his clubs for good.
However back in September, McIlroy made his position perfectly clear when he stated he wouldn’t want to be competing regularly beyond 50, suggesting that milestone could mark his departure from the PGA Tour.
“I was asked about this at The Players even before I won The Players and I said the same thing,” he said in early September. “I don’t want to be grinding out here at 50 years of age.
“I’ll turn up and play the majors and have a nice time but you know, whenever I’m done, I’m done, whenever that is. That’s certainly not right now, but I’m certainly closer to that point now than I was in 2007 when I turned pro.”
