No matter what he does in the $4 million Indian tournament, here’s how he’ll make a killing

admin October 14, 2025

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No matter what he does in the million Indian tournament, here’s how he’ll make a killing

At the end of a career-defining year, Rory McIlroy’s decision to head to India doesn’t make much sense on its face.

“Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, those are my three goals for the rest of my career,” the Northern Irishman told the BBC in early 2025.

As the year comes to a close and he has achieved two of those three goals, many may have expected him to take some time off this winter.

However, as well as playing in this week’s DP World Tour Championship at Derry Golf Club, McIlroy will also play in December’s Australian Open.

This is in stark contrast to the schedule of Jon Rahm, who announced after a poor performance at last week’s Spanish Open that he will not appear on a golf course again until 2026.

What was McIlroy’s motivation for taking a different route?

There are about five, so let’s look at them in order.

1. Regain purpose

Winning the Masters took a toll on McIlroy.

Not only did he fulfill his lifelong dream of winning at Augusta National, he also eliminated the memory of his past failure there, ended his 14-year Grand Slam championship drought, and completed his career Grand Slam.

Speaking at the PGA Championship, the next major of the year, he said: “I think everyone sees how difficult it is to have a north star and cross the line.”

So began his season-long attempt to come to terms with not just what he had accomplished, but how to reset his career.

“As a kid I dreamed of being the best player in the world and winning all the majors,” he said. “I’ve already done that.”

“It’s probably harder than it used to be to grind out three or four hours a day on the range,” he admitted at the RBC Canadian Open.

When he was playing in the U.S. Open, he said, “You dream about that last putt at the Masters, but you don’t think about what’s going to happen next.”

When asked if he had plans for the future, he could only reply: “I don’t. I don’t know. I’m taking it game by game at the moment.”

It wasn’t until he arrived at the Scottish Open that he began to take his assignment seriously.

“Two weeks of transcendence does wonders for you, and you can sit there and think about it for a while,” he said. “I don’t want the Masters to be my last great moment in the game. I still have a lot to do.”

As a result, he has struggled to come to terms with his life situation, which has led to his decision to travel to a new place.

2. Fatigue and the Federer factor

At this year’s BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy discussed his year-end schedule.

“You know, I don’t want to name a tournament, but when you go back to the same place and go through the same thing for 15 or 20 years in a row, it can get a little monotonous, a little boring.

“I had a conversation with Roger Federer a few years ago at the end of his career. He said he wanted to play in a lot of tournaments that he would never get to play in his career, some of the smaller tournaments that not many people had seen him play.

“I think over time, as I get to this stage of my career, I’m going to be excited about doing this type of stuff.

3. See the world

But why India in particular?

“I want to play in different parts of the world and experience things I haven’t experienced before,” he said at Wentworth. “It was my first trip to India and it was exciting for me.

“Right now I want to play where I like to be, I want to play in the majors and the Ryder Cup. That’s it. I’m obviously going to do everything I can to make sure I retain my membership on some tours, but I’m going to play where I want to play.

“I feel like the career Grand Slam has put a burden on myself and now I want to enjoy whatever time I had in my last decade or career.”