On the way to 2025, Rory McIlroy reduces the number of competitions on its calendar.

“There are a few tournaments that I played this year that I don’t usually play that I might not play next year,” McIlroy, 35, said in a recent interview with The telegraph. “For example, I played at the Cognizant (Classic) in Palm Beach Gardens, (the Texas Open in) San Antonio and the (RBC Heritage in) Hilton Head.”

He added: “I probably won’t play the first play-off game in Memphis. I mean, I finished dead last there this year (tied for 68th out of a field of 70 players), and only fell one place in the play-off standings.

McIlroy said his age was a factor in reducing the tournaments he played. “Well, at this point in my career… Hey, I’m 35 years old and I’ve been here 17, 18 years, so I’m just going to go to the places that I like and play well,” he said. he explained. “Look, I did the hard part, I did these kinds of 25 to 30 events a year. And I’m not getting any younger.

Related: Timeline of the relationship between golf professional Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll

Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll have sparked a romance after years of friendship. The professional golfer first met Stoll in 2012 while he was still dating tennis player Caroline Wozniacki. (The exes split in 2014 after three years and were briefly engaged.) “What I love about it is that we were friends first and foremost…

McIlroy – who recently competed at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, his 26th event of the year – announced he was take a brief break from sport after losing to Bryson DeChambeau to the United States Open Championship earlier this summer.

“I’m going to take a few weeks off from the whole playing process and prepare for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and the Open at Royal Troon,” he wrote. via in June.

He broke his silence during his golf break three months later. “A lot has happened this year on the golf side and obviously on the personal side as well,” he said during an appearance on the TV show in September. The late show. “Sometimes life can do a lot and it can do too much, and I had to take a little break and step away from the game more than anything else.”

McIlroy noted that he needed to take a break from “the business of golf” to address his top priorities. “(What’s) really important to me is friends, family (and) fun,” he added. “Enjoy the fact that you were that little boy in Hollywood and grew up to be what I am, and I need to enjoy this time.”

Outside of his golf career, McIlroy has made headlines this year for his rocky relationship with his wife, Erica Stoll. The athlete filed for divorce de Stoll, 37, after seven years of marriage in May but rejected the case a month later.

“Over the past few weeks, Erica and I have realized that our best future is a family together,” he said in a June statement to The Guardian. “Fortunately, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a fresh start.”

Stoll continued to support her husband at the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland, in July. McIlroy, meanwhile, revealed in his September interview on The late show that the couple’s 4-year-old daughter Poppy took “a little interest” in golf.

“If she did it (become a professional golfer), I would support her 100 percent, but at the same time I wouldn’t mind if she did something different,” he said.