McIlroy is playing at the Australian Open for the first time in over a decade and is searching for a crown after skipping out on the Hero World Challenge and being compared to Tiger Woods
Rory McIlroy compared to Tiger Woods after crowd and participation at Australian Open(Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy is back in the Australian Open for the first time in a decade after choosing to skip out on the Hero World Challenge hosted by Tiger Woods, and the new Grand Slam winner has already been compared to the all-time great.
36-year old McIlroy is cutting down his events but expanding worldwide in the upcoming years, playing in the Australian Open for the first time in over a decade. The tournament is turning heads with McIlroy in the field, as they are expecting 30,000 more fans.
“Everything that was last year has probably multiplied by about 5 or 10 times,” tournament director Antonia Beggs told Front Office Sports. “Everyone wants to be a part of it,” added Beggs, who is the GM of major events for Golf Australia.
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McIlroy is drawing a huge crowd and an incredible amount of volunteers for the Australian Open, and Guy Kinnings said that it’s very important that McIlroy is willing to come out and play at Royal Melbourne.
“To have one of our sport’s greatest ever players buying into this mission, and interested in playing in key growth markets, is hugely important for our business,” DP World Tour CEO Guy Kinnings told Front Office Sports.
“Rory’s presence gives any tournament recognition and subsequently boosts fan engagement and commercial interest. In his prime, Tiger Woods was an advocate for playing a global schedule, and Rory has taken on that role and is running with it.”
Rory McIlroy at the Australian Open after drawing huge crowd in Australia
Most of the non-U.S. events McIlroy participates in are a part of the DP World Tour, which has expanded to worldwide events while the PGA largely stays within the United States. The DP World Tour held tournaments in 26 different countries in 2025, and McIlroy found himself at seven tournaments in five countries throughout the year.
“I enjoy the travel,” said McIlroy at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. “I enjoy playing in different parts of the world.”
“Going back to the same place, the same thing 15, 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious,” said McIlroy in September before the BMW PGA Championship in England.
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McIlroy plans to primarily focus on major championships and Ryder Cups as he looks ahead in his golf career.
“I’ve talked about trying to win at some of the most important venues in golf—this week is one of them.
“You think about the tournaments and the people that have won at Royal Melbourne and how highly regarded it is within the golf world. I was lucky enough to win at Pebble Beach [Pro-Am] this year for the first time, and obviously at Augusta. I’d love to win at St. Andrews one day. I’d love to win a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.”
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“There are a few venues in our game that maybe just mean a bit more than some of the others and that’s something that I would love to do one day,” said the World No. 2.
“I want to win more majors. I want to be part of more Ryder Cup teams. I’d say my records on either tour, whether it be the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour are probably meaning a little less to me as time goes on, and it’s really just focusing on the majors and being part of that Ryder Cup team. I’m trying to build on the legacy that I’ve been building for the last 15 years.”
