A rip-roaring season of Rory
Australian journey caps a landmark year for McIlroy, who'll take new focus into 2026
After a long eventful 2025 ended in Australia, Rory McIlroy is ready to rest and recharge. (Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
By just about any measure, this was the year of Rory McIlroy in men’s professional golf. Maybe in all of golf. Yes, Scottie Scheffler won two major championships and had an outstanding year on the PGA Tour, where he will undoubtedly be bestowed with player-of-the-year honors … again.
But it’s difficult to not give the overall nod to McIlroy, whose amazing year ended on Sunday at the Australian Open, where he tied for 14th.
He didn’t win — didn’t even really contend — but McIlroy taking the green jacket Down Under to Royal Melbourne was yet another milestone in what was a dream year for the Northern Irishman.
He won at Pebble Beach and at Sawgrass. He withstood the incredible drama of a riveting back nine at Augusta National, where he seemed in control, blew it, bounced back, missed a chance to win in regulation, then captured his fifth major title and first Masters in a playoff over Justin Rose.
The victory meant completing the elusive career Grand Slam, an 11-year pursuit that saw him join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods in an ultra-exclusive club.
True, there was a mid-summer letdown and some testiness as McIlroy sought to recharge after such an emotional win. There was the return to the Open at Royal Portrush, where he was welcomed like a conquering hero. There was a popular victory at the Irish Open. There was a road European victory at the Ryder Cup, where McIlroy played a big role.
And there was a seventh Race to Dubai title when he contended — and lost in a playoff — at the DP World Tour’s season-ending event in Dubai.
He even ventured to India and Australia and brought a buzz to places craving his kind of star power.
Phew!
“I’m looking forward to a little break,” McIlroy said after finishing with consecutive birdies at Royal Melbourne. “I’ve played a pretty heavy schedule post the summer with Irish Open, Wentworth, Ryder Cup and then I’ve sort of been globe-trotting a little bit here the last couple of months.
“I’m excited to have a little bit of downtime and finally reflect on everything, maybe watch a few of the tournaments back. I’ve not really let myself do that too much. So yeah, looking forward to the Christmas break and put the feet up, a few glasses of wine and think back about what an unbelievable year.”
McIlroy’s appearance in Melbourne — for which he was undoubtedly paid handsomely — was a boon to the event that has often had difficulty attracting marquee players, either due to the time of year or the paltry purse.
But winning the Australian Open now comes with a Masters invite and the top three finishers not otherwise exempt also earn spots at the Open Championship.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen shot 70 to claim his first DP World Tour title by a shot over Australia’s Cam Smith, who for the first time in eight tries made a 36-hole cut in an OWGR event this year. The LIV golfer who won the 2022 British Open has struggled this year but was in with a chance to win until a three-putt bogey on the final hole.
That allowed Neergaard-Petersen to claim his first Masters opportunity.
“It means the world,” said the young Dane, who earned one of 10 PGA Tour cards via the DP World Tour without winning a tournament. “Growing up, the Masters wasn’t the first tournament that I watched, but as soon as I watched that tournament, it was the first event that I was like, ‘If I one day become a professional golfer, that’s the event I want to play.’ It’s a dream come true, and I can’t wait for April.”
South Korea’s Si Woo Kim, South Africa’s Michael Hollick and Adam Scott finished third, fourth and fifth, respectively, to qualify for the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale.
Scott, 45, has played in a remarkable 97 consecutive major championships and will stretch that to 98 as a past Masters champion. He’s all but a lock to play in the PGA at Aronimink to reach 99. He’ll need a strong start to the year to claim a U.S. Open exemption via the top 60 OWGR and thus would make his 100th in a row at Shinnecock next summer ahead of the British Open.
Fans flocked to Royal Melbourne to watch McIlroy and Co. (Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Scott played the first two rounds at Royal Melbourne with McIlroy, who was stunned by the size of the galleries and the outpouring of support, wishing that the event could attract a better field and perhaps more support from PGA Tour players.
McIlroy noted the recent chatter coming out from new CEO Brian Rolapp that future schedules might involve a later start, perhaps until after the Super Bowl.
“NFL is king in the States, and it makes sense from an American point of view, but then I think it does let international and global golf shine for five months of the year,” McIlroy said.
“Obviously, it’s been over 10 years since I played in the Australian Open, and look at the scenes out there this week. The crowds, the golf course were absolutely incredible. I said at the start of the week, this is a golf tournament that’s got so much potential, and I think it showed a little bit of that potential this week.”
Even now, however, the golf calendar is crowded. Tiger Woods’ Hero World Challenge, won by Hideki Matsuyama, was being played at the same time. So was another DP World Tour event, the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa.
For the Australian Open to attract more PGA Tour players probably requires it to be moved to January or February. Few are going to go if it’s not a co-sanctioned event that counts as part of the FedEx Cup schedule.
“Look, obviously I would love to have a few more players come down to play, but again, it’s hard when there’s three tournaments going on in the schedule this week,” McIlroy said. “Again, there needs to be conversations had with people much more important than me that set the schedules and do all that sort of stuff and hopefully the Australian Open can find a date that accommodates everyone and can at least have the option to come down and play.”
For now, McIlroy can wind down. He’ll be back in the Middle East in mid-January for the start of the DP World Tour season and then likely head to Pebble Beach. A new year will be here soon enough.
Next year, the Australian Open will be played across Melbourne at Kingston Heath, where McIlroy will return to play a course he considers even better than Royal Melbourne. By then, perhaps, there will be more clarity on future schedules.
McIlroy, meanwhile, will be more focused in the future on bolstering his portfolio with more major trophies and more iconic venues.
“I’ve talked about trying to win at some of the most important venues in golf — this week is one of them,” he said in Melbourne.
“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.”
Both venues are on the major schedule in 2027.
“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. 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.”