As a golf fan, you might only have 10 good years to watch Rory McIlroy tee off. He is ready to lead the Ryder Cup in the coming years, with no desire to be a playing captain. He has also shared his skepticism about the Seniors Tour. McIlroy is all set to pack up the moment he teeters on the edge of 50. His post-golf plan is ready, as he finally shared his vision.

Speaking at the CNBC’s CEO Council Forum, McIlroy looked clear in his upcoming plans. “I used to be the young guy on Tour, and I look around myself now, and I’m not, and I’ve got the gray hairs to prove it,” he joked light-heartedly. “I still feel like I can be a really good golfer for the next five to ten years, but, you know, I’m still going to have half my life to live after that.”

The “gray hairs” he talks about are a sign of his growing age, and he is not ready to risk his body for a few more trophies. In his words, he “hit a wall” after playing 27 events last year, and so his schedule would see a drastic scale-back (from 25-30 to 18-20). That was visible in 2025, when he missed 4 Signature Events. His aim was basically to skip most of the PGA Tour events, as they require him to fly out of Europe, where he is currently based. McIlroy has also criticized golf for having a dense schedule and suggested having an NFL-like system. But that does not mean he skipped golf completely; he just shifted his focus.

For McIlroy, the grind became intense at the DP World Tour. He played the Genesis Scottish Open. He also played the Amgen Irish Open, where he won. The Ryder Cupper then traveled to India for DPWIC and then flew to the UAE for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (3T) and the DPWT Championship, finishing second. This all just means that golf is still his priority, as of now, but he wants to play more globally.

“I think as long as I’m playing golf competitively, I will be a golfer first and foremost,” he reflected. “Golf is the reason that I am on this stage. It’s given me a platform to follow these different interests in my life.”

“Different interests” is where he sees himself after 10 years. He does not want to be one of those players who have hung up their clubs at home and have nothing left to do. He doesn’t want to think, “Okay, what am I going to do next?”

The next step in his life is definitely business, something he has started dipping his toes in.

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Rory McIlroy is a businessman, too

This year, just weeks after completing his career Grand Slam at the Masters, he launched TPG Sports. TPG, which is a private equity firm that manages around $246 B in assets, seemed like the perfect launchpad for McIlroy. Even back in 2019, he had walked on this path when he co-founded Symphony Ventures. The result of this is Whoop, Hyperice, Golf Genius, and Puttery. Then there is also the TGL that he has with Tiger Woods.

“I think to put the wheels in motion, partnering with great firms like TPG, following my interests in investing, it sets me up for that second phase of life, which I think a lot of athletes, you know, don’t get to,” he shared.

McIlroy’s job is to operate as a partner in the firm and bring in funds for sports investment. That is something already being seen since his entry into the company. The fund has received great commitment from Lunate, which is an Abu Dhabi investment manager. For the Northern Irishman, this is a great opportunity because he believes sport is going through a big transformation.  All he wants to do is bring in more investment in golf and try to make it more professional. That’s simply his post-retirement plan.

“When I feel like I’ve done everything that I want to do in the game of golf, it will be so nice to hopefully step into this other role, and it will sort of be a smooth transition into that,” smiles Rory McIlroy.