Rory is focused on majors. Full stop.
PublishedDecember 4, 2025 2:28 PM EST•UpdatedDecember 4, 2025 4:05 PM EST
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For almost two decades now, the world has watched Rory McIlroy grow from being this bushy-haired, overly confident kid to being what many would consider to be the consummate professional. Since turning professional in 2007, to now being a 36-year-old career grand slam winner who has experienced all the game has to offer, the question left on everyone’s mind, likely including his own, is what more else is there?
While his future accomplishments and inevitable failures as a human who plays a game that you lose far more often than you win will ultimately answer that question, McIlroy has made it clear, heading into the new year and beyond, that he’s no longer interested in playing caterer.
As a generational talent and the most influential player in golf not named Tiger Woods, McIlroy has had this moral duty to be the guy. After all, somebody has to do it.
Rory McIlroy is done carrying the water for the PGA and DP World Tour. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Whether it be the guy who speaks on behalf of the PGA Tour as a whole, countless battles with LIV Golf, the future of the sport in general, and anything else imaginable that doesn’t actually involve him swinging a golf club, McIlroy has taken the mic in front of him to send generalized message after generalized message for the betterment of the Tour.
With a green jacket from Augusta National finally occupying his closet and Father Time not slowing down, Rory is going to start worrying about Rory, and not just a bit more, but a lot more.
“I want to win more majors. I want to be part of more Ryder Cup teams,” McIlroy said at this week’s Australian Open.
“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,” he continued. “I’m trying to build on the legacy that I’ve been building for the last 15 years.”
On the surface, McIlroy explaining that he would like to win more major championships and be a part of more Ryder Cup teams isn’t exactly a shocking revelation, but him blatantly stating accomplishments in regular tour events signals a real change in his public-facing outlook.
Rory McIlroy is turning the focus back on himself. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Every professional golfer operating anywhere near the same levels as McIlroy looks at major championships and Ryder Cup appearances differently than normal stops, but those same players haven’t been the unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour for years.
As basic as it may seem to hear a player say that they’re more focused on winning major championships and cementing their legacy in the game, it’s actually quite refreshing, especially in an era where winning a normal event on Tour means a paycheck with two commas is headed your way.
The greats of the game are measured by how many major championships they have to their name when it’s all said and done. McIlroy is fully aware of that, so why not talk about it?
