Rory McIlroy makes career change to be ‘fresher for bigger tournaments’ as he urges PGA Tour to make ‘NFL’ style change
Rory McIlroy makes career change to be ‘fresher for bigger tournaments’ as he urges PGA Tour to make ‘NFL’ style change
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HOLYWOOD hotshot Rory McIlroy is scaling back his PGA Tour schedule this year. The four-time major winner wants the tour's overall number of tournaments to be reduced in the future. The 36-year-old was speaking ahead of his debut event of the 2025 campaign at the $20m 'Signature' AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
![[DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 19: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland studies shot on the 18th hole during the final round of the the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on January 19, 2025 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images)]](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/GETTY_Hero-Dubai-Desert-Classic-Day-Four_SPO_GYI2194707827jpg-JS964972068-1.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Six-time Race to Dubai winner reckons the PGA Tour has been diminished due to the number of events on the schedule. He also believes the game is oversaturated for the consumer before calling for an NFL-style, shorter season. He said in 2023 that he played too few events before upping his schedule last year.
![[VIRGINIA WATER, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland reacts on the 11th green during day four of the BMW PGA Championship 2024 at Wentworth Club on September 22, 2024 in Virginia Water, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)]](https://www.thesun.ie/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/01/GETTY_BMW-PGA-Championship-2024-Day-Four_SPO_GYI2173727343jpg-JS935079839.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
The world number three could cut his season back to 20 events after after saying he played too many events in 2024. He said: “I think it [the tour] already has been diminished. “I think there's space for all of this. “Yeah, I can see when the golf consumer might get a little fatigued of everything that's sort of available to them.
"So to scale it back a little bit and maybe have a little more scarcity in some of the stuff that we do, like the NFL, I think mightn't be a bad thing. “But look, I would much rather sit down and watch real golfers play real tournaments and that's just my opinion.
"That to me is more entertaining. But I understand that other people want something different and that's totally fine as well.”. The three-time FedEx Cup winner played 26 combined starts in 2024 on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour as he complained about playing too much last year.
