Rory McIlroy entered the press room for the DP World Tour Championship with the confidence of a player who has had an outstanding season. Although he lost in a playoff to Matt Fitzpatrick, who secured his third DP World Tour Championship title, McIlroy finished the season strongly and topped the Race to Dubai standings. After completing his career Grand Slam at the 2025 Masters, this strong finish was a fitting conclusion to the season. With 5,975.06 points, McIlroy claimed his seventh Race to Dubai title.

With such a successful career, McIlroy was asked if he ever sits back and appreciates this. While revealing that he does, he also pointed out a detrimental thing that he wants to avoid in his life.

“Yeah, sometimes. I think as you’re still playing, it’s probably detrimental to do it too much. But yeah, there’s times when I catch myself, and I think my place in the game and where I’m going to end up. Again, as a 36-year-old, hopefully with a lot of years left in the tank, I don’t think about it too much. But yeah, you can appreciate that up until this point, it’s been a pretty good run,” Rory McIlroy said.

There’s no denying he’s had a great run until now. He has now won the Race to Dubai title seven times in his career. With this, he surpassed the legendary Seve Ballesteros. Now, he is only one season-long race win short of tying Colin Montgomerie’s record. Besides all these Race to Dubai titles, he has achieved a lot more in his career. 20 wins on the DP World Tour, 29 PGA Tour titles, 8 Ryder Cup events with 21.5 points, a career Grand Slam, and his recent BBC Sports Personality Of The Year (SPOTY) award, alongside many others.

While McIlroy appreciates all this, he is a firm believer that doing too much can be detrimental, whether it’s overthinking it or playing a packed schedule. Instead of thinking too much about his achievements or career, McIlroy aims to focus on and enjoy his matches.

There are many examples of golfers who faced severe issues because of a detrimental mindset. Ian Baker-Finch, for instance, was a promising golfer. However, he suffered a severe mental collapse in the mid-1990s, triggered by the putting yips.

Similarly, he also does not want to strain his body by playing too much golf with his growing age. Many golfers have found themselves in a cycle of fighting health problems by playing too much. For instance, Tiger Woods has tried to make a comeback to professional golf many times. However, his health never allowed him to make a true comeback. The same goes for LPGA star Michelle Wie West, too.

Wie was regarded as the next Tiger Woods in golf. She joined the LPGA Tour at a very early age and had an impressive start. However, she had an injury in early 2007. She didn’t take appropriate care of the injury, which ultimately forced her into early retirement. “I think that’s, like, one of my biggest regrets,” Michelle Wie West said about the injury.

However, Rory McIlroy has already started taking steps to avoid ending up like Tiger Woods. He understands that he is getting older with every season. Thus, he doesn’t want to push his body too much. Instead of a packed schedule every year, he aims to play longer, just like Justin Rose. “Look, I’m not getting any younger. If I want to play competitively for another ten years like Justin Rose has, for example, I have to remember that I’m not 23 anymore and I can’t play that schedule forever,” McIlroy said.

The 2025 Masters champion’s schedule is getting shorter each year. He reduced the number of PGA Tour events on his schedule from 19 in 2024 to 16 in 2025. He’s already trimmed his DP World Tour schedule this year compared to 2024. He plans to reduce the number of events further in 2026 and play only in significant tournaments.

Thanks to his understanding that doing too much can be detrimental, Rory McIlroy has managed to stay in top health. He has faced many injuries over the years, just like many other golfers. However, he knows how to manage his health and take a break when required.

Top Stories

Tiger Woods and Elin Nordegren in Attendance as Charlie Woods Drives Team to Victory in Florida

Tiger Woods’ Girlfriend Wastes No Time in Sending Daughter Kai Trump a Strong Message After LPGA Disappointment

Phil Mickelson’s Cryptic Note Drops Minutes After Jay Monahan’s Numbers Spotlight the $8.7 Billion Discrepancy

LPGA Pro Issues Complaint After Slow-Play Chaos Follows Major Changes: ‘Ridiculous’

Rising PGA Tour Golfer Admits He Could Quit Golf Soon as Personal Issues Take Priority

Rory McIlroy’s health history

McIlroy has revealed that he has been living with myocarditis since he was 20 years old. “I have a flat T-wave and I’ll have to get an echo [cardiogram] on my heart every six months and an MRI scan every year,” McIlory told the Telegraph. It is an inflammation of the heart muscle. This condition can affect the heart’s ability to pump blood and cause symptoms such as chest pain and arrhythmias. He experienced a severe viral infection in China in 2018 that caused scar tissue and thickening in his heart muscle, prompting regular medical monitoring.

Rory McIlroy manages this through hydration, magnesium intake, and advanced tracking technology like WHOOP to monitor his heart rate and heart rate variability. The 29x PGA Tour winner also told WHOOP that, “I had back problems when I was 18 or 19. I had a herniated disk, L4-L5. I was told when I was 19 that if I didn’t sort this out, if I didn’t get stronger, if I wasn’t more diligent on the health side of things, that my career could only last a handful of years.”

He has also sustained minor ankle and rib injuries. He ruptured his left ankle ligament while playing football with friends. The rib injury occurred in 2017 during the BMW SA Open.

Despite these injuries, Rory McIlroy has effectively managed his health. He follows a disciplined gym routine and dedicates considerable time to strength training and flexibility exercises.