DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The goals for 2025 are piling up for Rory McIlroy.
Ending his drought in the majors dating to 2014 is uppermost in his mind. There’s also the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on New York’s Long Island, where the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland will be the heartbeat of Europe’s team seeking a rare road win in what is one of the world’s biggest sports events.
Now add to that his quest to reach the levels set by golf’s top two players at the moment: American stars Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.
“They certainly separated themselves from the pack this year,” McIlroy, No. 3 behind those two in the current Official World Golf Ranking, said Wednesday, the day before the start of the DP World Tour Championship that closes out the Europe-based circuit’s 2024 season. “I’m obviously very aware of that, and it only makes me more motivated to try to emulate what they did this year.”
Scheffler won the Masters and four more PGA Tour events this year, including the season-ending Tour Championship. Schauffele won the PGA Championship and the British Open. McIlroy could — maybe should _ have won the year’s other major, the U.S. Open, only to three-putt two of the last three holes to lose by one shot to LIV Golf League player Bryson DeChambeau.