The bulk of the golf season came to a close this Sunday with the DP World Tour Championship. The Bermuda Championship also concluded on the PGA Tour, which now has only this week's RSM Classic and several non-FedEx Cup events remaining. Among them is Tiger Woods' Hero World Challenge, which will bring together a host of stars, with Scottie Scheffler leading the way.
Rory McIlroy has finished the bulk of his season. The Northern Irishman still has one tournament on his schedule, barring any changes: the Australian Open, which will be played from December 4th to 7th, part of the PGA Tour Australasia. But whatever happens then, the Northern Irishman can undoubtedly say that 2025 is the year of his sporting life.
Rory McIlroy, results
After a long and distinguished career at the elite level, with his debut on the European Tour back in 2005, McIlroy, along with Scottie Scheffler, has been one of the two men who have defined the season. Opinions vary, but their achievements are undeniable: world number one, PGA Tour title, British Tour title, and four other PGA Tour events (CJ Cup, Memorial, BMW Championship, and Procore Championship) for Scheffler; and the Masters Tournament, Ryder Cup, Race to Dubai, The Players Championship, and two other tournaments (his own Irish Open and Pebble Beach) for McIlroy.
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The Northern Irishman's accomplishments have not only sparked a two-way debate about who will reign in 2025, but have also significantly solidified his place in European golf history. Already established as one of the leading figures in the sport for several seasons, McIlroy's achievements this year have once again placed him among the greats. At least, beyond the individual impact each player may have had on the development and growth of golf, the numbers speak for themselves.
McIlroy's greatest achievement in 2025 was undoubtedly winning the Masters Tournament at Augusta, the only major championship missing from his collection. This success not only elevates him to the pantheon of European golfers but also to the pantheon of golfers in general. Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woodsall Americans with the exception of a South African playerhad achieved this feat: no European player had ever completed the Grand Slam.
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However, if there was one major event for European players this year, it was the Ryder Cup. The Northern Irishman was once again one of the leaders of Team Europe in Bethpage, New York, and won the sixth Ryder Cup of his career. Only ten other players in history have won six or more Ryder Cups as players, with Billy Casper's eight leading the way. In European competition, McIlroy equaled Bernhard Langer and Sergio Garca's record and fell just one short of Lee Westwood's record. He also entered the top 10 for points contributed to a team in the competition's history.
McIlroy's third major success of the year came this Sunday. Winning the Race to Dubai also takes him another step up the European circuit. The 2025 victory marks the seventh European Order of Merit for the Northern Irishman, who was also champion in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023, and 2024. With this win, Rory surpassed the European legend, Severiano Ballesteros, who won the Order of Merit six times, and is now just one shy of Collin Montgomerie's record of eight.
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These are just some of the many successes added to his impressive career. McIlroy is also the player with the most FedEx Cups on the PGA Tour since its inception in 2007 (three), fifth with the most weeks at world number one (122), tied for fifteenth in majors (five), tied for eighteenth in PGA Tour titles (eighteen), twelfth in DP World Tour titles (twenty), and tied for third in the now-defunct World Championships (three). This demonstrates that his living legend, amplified this year, is not limited to the Old Continent.
