In the aftermath of the Ryder Cup, a champagne-soaked Rory McIlroy got emotional as he tried to sum up his 2025. “Best year of my career,” McIlroy said. “Best year of my life.”
We certainly aren’t here to argue. The last 12 months was as eventful as it was successful for the 36-year-old Northern Irishman. Heck, it was downright historical from a golf perspective. Scottie Scheffler remains the World No. 1, but it was Rory who produced the most storylines (Read here for more of our Newsmakers of the Year). So, as has been our tradition, we’ve come up with a fast-paced way to recap what went down for that year’s biggest headliner. Here’s our extensive list of 57 things that happened to Rory McIlroy in 2025. In no particular order.
RELATED: 55 things that happened to Scottie Scheffler in 2024
1. Changed golf balls.
2. Changed his driver.
3. Kept changing his driver.
4. Had an UBER deliver old clubs to him at Bay Hill for the final round of Arnold Palmer Invitational.
5. Gave the UBER driver a huge tip.
6. Played in his first TGL match.
"Heart was pumping a little bit, legs were a little bit shaky."
Rory McIlroy after hitting his first @TGL tee shot 😅 pic.twitter.com/9xOiNIdtGz
— ESPN (@espn) January 28, 2025
7. Skipped the first FedEx Cup Playoff event.
8. Made a hole-in-one at Spyglass Hill.
RORY MCILROY ACE ALERT. 🚨
He dunks it on the 15th at Spyglass Hill for just his second hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR!
🎥 @PGATOUR pic.twitter.com/xToTzRnSgr
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) January 30, 2025
9. Won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
10. Had the phone of a jeering fan (who turned out to be a prominent college player) taken and the fan kicked out of crowd at the Players Championship on Tuesday.
11. Won the Players Championship on Monday.
Jared C. Tilton
12. Got miffed over a couple slow-play warnings at the Irish Open.
13. Eagled the last hole to get into a playoff at the Irish Open.
The putt. The result. The noise. The celebration.
Rory McIlroy’s eagle putt at the 72nd hole will go down in history 🤩#AmgenIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/yf8bzNmNUW
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) September 7, 2025
14. Won the Irish Open.
15. Moved past Phil Mickelson to No. 2 on the PGA Tour’s all-time earnings.
16. Jabbed J.J. Spaun about losing the Players in a playoff at the Masters.
17. Gave Bryson DeChambeau the silent treatment at the Masters.
18. Dragged Bryson DeChambeau ahead of the Ryder Cup.
19. Stoked the Bryson rivalry at the Ryder Cup.
Rory covered Bryson's name with the European flag. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/rkGHpvUy43
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 29, 2025
20. Said he started reading fiction again.
21. Watched “The Devil Wears Prada” before a playoff at TPC Sawgrass.
22. Admitted to watching “Bridgerton” with his wife.
23. Admitted to not liking YouTube golf.
24. Revealed he might retire before people think.
25. Went on vacation to France.
26. Had this fun interaction with a fan at a club there.
@thebrodym #rorymcilroy #sainttropez #grandslam ♬ original sound – brody.mandelbaum19
27. Had his driver deemed non-conforming at the PGA Championship.
28. Was “pissed off” over that equipment news leaking.
29. Stopped talking to the media for a bit.
30. Eventually got back to talking to the media a lot.
Richard Heathcote
31. Said the PGA Tour should have fewer events.
32. Responded to Charley Hoffman taking issue with that stance.
33. Called LIV switching to 72-hole events “peculiar.”
34. Bladed a bunker shot off the grandstands and made birdie at East Lake.
Rory McIlroy with a ridiculous up-and-down for birdie off the grandstand sign on 18. 😂 pic.twitter.com/oIuxEkfrbZ
— Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) August 21, 2025
35. Caddied his daughter to making a long putt at the Masters Par 3 Contest.
Poppy McIlroy converts the lengthy putt on No. 9! #themasters pic.twitter.com/6Vfkfxm3v7
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 9, 2025
36. Played in the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry again.
37. Played in the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
38. Attended the (tennis) U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows.
39. Got a nice salute from eventual winner Carlos Alcarez.
https://twitter.com/SkySports/status/1960236994069463314
40. Hit two golf balls by accident at the British Open.
Have you ever seen anything like this?! 😂 pic.twitter.com/kcryiPU0xv
— Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) July 19, 2025
41. Attended the Senior British Open.
42. Was heckled (to put it kindly) at the Ryder Cup.
43. Yelled back at fans at the Ryder Cup—then stuck winning approach shot.
Rory backing off his shot and chirping back at a heckler, then stuffing one inside the Americans' ball pic.twitter.com/V9yyV7ANr0
— Brentley Romine (@BrentleyGC) September 27, 2025
44. Helped lead Team Europe keep the Ryder Cup.
45. Had a message in his honor stamped on U.K. mail.
46. Had a DP World Tour award named after him.
47. Eagled the last hole to get into a playoff at the DP World Tour Championship.
RORY MCILROY!
He eagles the 72nd hole to send the season finale to a play-off!#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/MkS4mJlqlj
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 16, 2025
48. Lost that playoff, but still won the season-long Race To Dubai for a seventh time.
49. Wore the green jacket to Northern Ireland for an all-time flex photo.
Ramsey Cardy
50. Took his green jacket to India.
51. Took his driver out of the bag in India.
52. Played the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne for the first time.
53. Whiffed a shot at the Australian Open.
From whiffing on the ball completely to making birdie the next hole.
This sequence from Rory McIlroy was an absolute rollercoaster. 🤯pic.twitter.com/6FzWEH1ner
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) December 5, 2025
54. Somehow whiffed all the trees with this recovery shot at the Masters.
Rory's reaction says it all. pic.twitter.com/PJ3LF0YSHu
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) April 13, 2025
55. Hit arguably the three best consecutive approach shots ever at the Masters.
56. Won the Masters. (Finally.) To complete the career Grand Slam. (Finally.)
David Cannon
57. Updated his Twitter bio.
RELATED: How Rory McIlroy’s goals have shifted
This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
