Roger Federer helps Rory McIlroy make decisions on his own terms
By Carl Markham, PA
Rory McIlroy has reiterated his plan to continue to broaden his golfing horizons rather than get bogged down in the monotony of the tour having taken on board advice from tennis great Roger Federer.
As the newest member of the sport’s career Grand Slam club after his victory in the Masters, the Northern Irishman has given himself extra security, if it were even needed, to make decisions on his own terms.
Before the end of the year the 36-year-old will play in India for the first time before returning to Australia as he has more option than most to pick and choose tournaments.
From The K Club to Wentworth. Rory straight back at it 💪#BMWPGA | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/1b7vMnUm2r
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 8, 2025
The world number two was criticised last month for skipping the first FedEx Cup event on the PGA Tour as it did not affect his position in the rankings and offered a chance to have a break before a busy September, which began with him winning last week’s Irish Open, has now taken him to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship and will end with the Ryder Cup in New York.
“I want to go and play in different places in the world and experience things that I haven’t experienced before, to be able to do things for the first time 18 years into a career,” he told a press conference.
“I had a chat with Roger Federer, I don’t know, a few years ago sort of at the end of his career and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career, some of the smaller events, just because a lot of people had never seen him play tennis before.
“I think as time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.
“I don’t want to name a tournament, but you’re 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.
“I want to play in the locations that I love to go to and I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That’s it.”
You're 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
McIlroy is not thinking about the end of his competitive career but acknowledges his priorities have shifted and he is no longer beholden to the weekly trudge around the circuit.
“I don’t want to be grinding out here at 50 years of age. I’ll turn up and play the majors and have a nice time but whenever I’m done, I’m done, whenever that is,” he added.
“That’s certainly not right now, but I’m certainly closer to that point now than I was in 2007 when I turned pro.
“I’ll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership on certain tours, but I’m going to play where I want to play.”
McIlroy found himself at the centre of a Ryder Cup furore this week when the official United States team website started selling a 65 US dollar (£48) T-shirt which appears to feature his likeness in silhouette.
“It looks more like Adam Scott than me, but, yeah, it looks a little similar, I don’t know,” he told Sky Sports.
Rory McIlroy reacts to a US Ryder Cup tee-shirt that looks like a silhouette of him 👕😅 pic.twitter.com/sJiLbvlS2d
— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 9, 2025
When it was put to him American fans would be wearing a T-shirt bearing his image, he added: “That’s OK. That’s fine. I won’t mind that.”
McIlroy, who recently moved into a house on the Wentworth estate, will play the first two days alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Jon Rahm, with all 11 present members of captain Luke Donald’s team also paired up.
Recent PGA Tour winners Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose are joined by defending champion Billy Horschel, while Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick are in the same group, as are Viktor Hovland and rookie Rasmus Hojgaard and Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre.
