Much like the year itself, Rory McIlroy’s calendar can be split into four seasons.

There’s his opening drive, which begins in the Middle East and typically produces a trophy or two preceding the Northern Irishman’s arrival to the United States. Following a run of play on the PGA Tour, the Masters represents a season of its own as it is the lone tournament that stands between McIlroy becoming the sixth player in the history of the game to complete the career grand slam. 

The three other major championships wrap up that season, serving as the setting where McIlroy will continue attempting to break a decade-long drought on golf’s biggest stage. Finally, there is the PGA Tour’s postseason and the DP World Tour where Rory — amid this major drought — has continued racking up one season-long crown after another.

For McIlroy, it is those middle two seasons that command the bulk of his attention, especially the Masters. Ironically, it is those same two seasons where he continues searching for answers that have eluded him since the end of 2014.

In 2024, McIlroy made a concerted effort to find those missing links. He never sniffed the first page of the leaderboard at the Masters but flirted with contention at the PGA Championship. And then he got his heart broken wide open at the U.S. Open. When The Open rolled around, McIlroy was just four rounds (or one tournament) removed from his collapse at Pinehurst No. 2. The early exit that ensued was foreseeable.

McIlroy got back on his feet and brushed himself off to end the year — as has often been the case during this stage of his career. He claimed his sixth Race to Dubai title and made considerable strides with his iron play, which had previously hindered his chances down the closing stretch of tournaments. 

In total, McIlroy played 27 worldwide tournaments — his most since 2009 — and the most competitive rounds of his career.

Don’t expect that type of workload to continue for the 35-year-old.

“There’s a few tournaments that I played this year that I don’t usually play and that I might not play next year,” McIlroy said. “Like, I played the Cognizant in Palm Beach Gardens, San Antonio and Hilton Head. And I’ll probably not play the first playoff event in Memphis. I mean, I finished basically dead last there this year and only moved down one spot in the playoff standings.”

While McIlroy plans to tee it up less in 2025, his lighter schedule may actually provide more benefit to his game when all is said and done. In 2024, for example, McIlroy claimed three individual titles — the Dubai Desert Classic, the Wells Fargo Championship and the DP World Tour Championship — all of which came soon after a layoff of at least multiple weeks.

This winning cadence isn’t necessarily a one-off either. In 2023, McIlroy won The CJ Cup in South Carolina one month after the DP World Tour season finale. His lone start during the PGA Tour swing season marked the end of his calendar year, but he began anew three months later in the Middle East where another trophy was waiting for him. The next time McIlroy entered the winner’s circle was at the Scottish Open where he reemerged following three weeks off.

Playing quality golf after more-extended layoffs will be the name of the game for McIlroy in 2025. Why? Well, if he can erase just one stroke off his four-round total at a major championship by arriving mentally and physically sharper, McIlroy will once again be a made man.

Already 25 times a winner on the PGA Tour, his collection of trophies will continue to grow. The climb from 25 to 26 will be celebrated when it occurs, and crossing the 30-win mark will draw headlines, but both achievements would both pale in comparison to four becoming five in an area where McIlroy has tried more and produced less for the last decade.