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<\/p>\nRory McIlroy didn\u2019t mince his words after the Ryder Cup. His message was clear. His goals for 2025 were to win the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam and win an away Ryder Cup. Now, on the back of a dominant performance in New York with Europe\u2019s victory, he has achieved both things. As he said on Sunday evening at Bethpage, \u201cIt\u2019s been the best year of my career, on and off the course.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s next?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no doubt Rory would say \u201cvery little\u201d for the time being. He told us he had made a commitment at the start of the year to have more fun and travel more. That resulted in him heading to New Zealand to play golf at the start of the year and was followed by taking in a Borussia Dortmund game in Germany, a family holiday to Montana and even a boys trip to Saint-Tropez after the Open Championship.<\/p>\n
But when he does get back to his home course, The Bears Club in Jupiter, Florida, takes his glove out again and begins practising, what are the things will drive him?<\/p>\n
Reading between the lines of things he\u2019s said in recent years, here\u2019s five career goals I think he may still have on his professional bucket list:<\/p>\n
1. An Olympic medal<\/p>\n
After missing golf\u2019s return to the Olympics in 2016, McIlroy donned Irish green in 2021 in Japan and narrowly missed out on a medal after a seven-man playoff for the bronze, eventually won by C.T. Pan of Chinese-Taipei. \u201cI\u2019ve never tried so hard in my life to finish third\u201d he told the media after the event. Four years later in Paris, McIlroy again came close to the podium. Weekend rounds of 66-66 saw him finish 15 under par, just two shots behind Hideki Matsuyama who took home the bronze medal. After that week, he compared the event to the Ryder Cup and said it was one of the \u201cbest individual competitions I\u2019ve been a part of.\u201d<\/p>\n
With all of that said, it\u2019s easy to imagine that Riviera in 2028 is very much in his sights for the future.<\/p>\n
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Andrew Redington<\/p>\n
2. The Ryder Cup points record<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need me to tell you what the Ryder Cup means to McIlroy. From his naive younger days of calling the event an \u201cexhibition,\u201d he has turned into the leader of the European team and again showed just how passionate he is about the event, after winning away from home at Bethpage Black in September. His 3\u00bd points in New York saw his total points tally at the Ryder Cup rise to 21\u00bd points, seventh all-time on the European side. The record points tally is held by Sergio Garcia, who won 2\u00bd of his 28\u00bd points alongside McIlroy. To overtake the Spaniard, Rory will need to win 7\u00bd more points, the exact number of points he won in Rome and New York combined. Could he reach that mark at Hazeltine in 2029?<\/p>\n
3. An Open Championship win at St. Andrews<\/p>\n
It seemed McIlroy was just a few swings away from achieving this in 2022, before Cam Smith\u2019s remarkable back nine at the Old Course snatched the claret jug from his grasp. A clear student of the game and its history, the significance of winning the game\u2019s oldest major on The Old Course is not lost on McIlroy. That week three years ago, he described it as \u201cthe holy grail of golf,\u201d saying that winning an Open at the Home of Golf is \u201cone of the highest achievements that you can have in golf.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Open returns to the Old Course in two years. McIlroy will be 38 years old and likely still one of the favourites going into that week. Will it be his turn this time around?<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Ross Kinnaird<\/p>\n
4. Two more Race to Dubai titles<\/p>\n
When McIlroy won the Race to Dubai last November, he did so for the third straight year and the sixth time in his career. It was a historic achievement, as he tied the late Seve Ballesteros for second all-time. Only Colin Montgomerie has won more Order of Merit titles on the DP World Tour. The Scot won eight, including seven in a row from 1993 onwards. McIlroy is once again in pole position to take home the Harry Vardon trophy in 2025, leading the Race to Dubai rankings with just one event left to play this week at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
David Cannon<\/p>\n
5. Two more majors<\/p>\n
Talking of two more titles, how about two more majors for the Northern Irishman? When McIlroy completed the career Grand Slam, it put him at five major championship titles and sparked the debate of whether he is the greatest European golfer of all-time. One argument against that narrative is Nick Faldo. His three Masters titles and three Open Championship wins put him one major clear of McIlroy on six. While McIlroy is tied again with Ballesteros, two more major titles from here on out would likely cement his legacy as Europe\u2019s best ever player.<\/p>\n
So you have it. Five fresh goals for the reigning Masters champion moving forward.<\/p>\n
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