What next for Rory McIlroy after ticking Masters and Ryder Cup boxes in 2025?

After Europe wrapped up their nail-biting Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black on Sunday, Rory McIlroy said three short, simple words that could be regarded as an understatement.

As he approached his wife Erica for a congratulatory embrace, McIlroy looked her in the eyes and said: “What a year.”

Winning an away Ryder Cup was high up on his list of boxes to tick in 2025, coming in at number two after “Win the Masters”!

Obviously, he would have loved to have added to his major collection, but the physical and mental exertions of his historic week at Augusta National in April clearly took a huge toll on the Northern Irishman. 

Many felt he could freewheeled his way to another big individual title or two having lifted the burden of finally completing his career Grand Slam of majors after a decade of frustration and heartbreak.

But his demeanour at the PGA Championship was telling. He refused to speak to the media throughout the four tournament days as he finished a lowly 47th, and he then missed the cut by a distance in Canada, where his second-day 78 was his worst round in years.

McIlroy wasn’t close to contending for the US Open title at Oakmont, but he regrouped and posted top-10s in his next three starts, including a tie for seventh on home soil at The Open.

Once he was done and dusted at Royal Portrush, he was already looking several weeks ahead to the Ryder Cup. He was a part of the victorious European team in the Miracle at Medinah 13 years ago, and he was desperate to experience that feeling again in New York.

He did, of course, enjoy one or two memorable moments in the build-up to Bethpage, most notably his sensational triumph in the Irish Open at The K Club.

The putt he holed for eagle on the 72-green to force a playoff with Joakim Lagergren will be replayed for many years to come, and the euphoria of the vast majority of the crowd set him in good stead for the challenge ahead.

McIlroy knew that the vast majority of the crowd at Bethpage would not have been so endearing, but he could barely have predicted the sheer amount, and content of the abuse he would receive during Ryder Cup week.

Homophobic slurs, his wife being hit by a beer can, and frequent interruptions by unruly locals blighted the contest. But the unwelcome attention also inspired McIlroy and his team-mates to tick that second box on his 2025 hit list.

The 36-year-old has said many times in recent weeks that winning the Ryder Cup in the USA would put the exclamation mark on the best year of his career.

The question now is, where does he go from here?

When you’ve won just about everything there is to win in the sport of golf, assessing your targets moving forward hits differently. McIlroy will still harbour ambitions of reeling in Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus in the major count, but surely he will run out of time in that quest.

Even for a man of his extraordinary talents, winning at least another 10 majors appears an unrealistic goal, but it’s one that he will never erase from the list of targets he would have compiled after turning professional in 2007.

I suspect his initial aims for 2026 will be to achieve things no other professional golfer has ever done before.

He will be the defending champion at The Players Championship and The Masters. Only Scottie Scheffler has come remotely close to winning those two events back-to-back. In fact, Scheffler is the only player in history to successfully defend at TPC Sawgrass.

It goes without saying that McIlroy will want to become the first man to win all four majors in one year, but I doubt if he’ll throw too much focus on that unless he wins the Masters and the PGA.

McIlroy will want his world number one status back, but unseating Scheffler will also be a tough ask. He will want his FedExCup title back, but his close friend Tommy Fleetwood will have plenty to say about that.

He can list any number of targets he likes, but as he’s now closer to 40 than 30, he’ll be keeping those goals close to his chest and he won’t be wasting energy chasing impossible dreams.

The two majors he cherishes most are The Masters and The Open, so it’s a good bet that winning both could be his number one aim for next year.

But, having spoken too many times about the heavy burden weighing him down over the last few years, particularly at Augusta, wouldn’t it be an idea to have zero targets for 2026?

McIlroy could focus on keeping his game sharp and the best it can be. He can let it happen, rather than trying to fulfil his own lofty expectations and try too hard to make it happen.

It’s a trap he’s fallen into too many times in his career, and has undoubtedly cost him a fair few titles.

Instead of pitching up at any given event and saying: “I absolutely have to win this week, it’s on my list of goals,” he could be saying: “Hey, I quite fancy this week, I believe I can win here.”

There’s a big difference in those two statements. You can be blessed with any amount of God-given talent, but if you’re distracted by a list of “must-achieve” goals, then the pressure ramps up and makes the job in hand significantly tougher.

So, don’t make any targets. Start every week with a clean slate, a clear mind and free of expectations and burdens.

There’s probably a good reason why that’s a bad idea, but it makes sense to me. Of course, that probably explains why I’m writing about golf rather than playing it for a living!