Rory McIlroy will play fewer golf tournaments on the PGA Tour this calendar year, as the popular Northern Irishman looks to win his first major championship since 2014
Rory McIlroy has won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California to secure his first PGA Tour title of 2025.
McIlroy, 35, produced an electric final round of golf on Sunday (66) to finish on -21 for the tournament, two shots ahead of Shane Lowry in second. The likes of Lucas Glover and Justin Rose (-18), plus Scottie Scheffler (-15), also finished in the top 10.
The victory is McIlroy’s 27th on the PGA Tour, with only 20 men achieving more wins on golf’s biggest circuit. It also sees the four-time major winner continue his sensational form, having won the DP World Tour Championship in November.
McIlroy’s only other tournament since then was last month’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, where he finished in a tie for fourth. The experienced golfer has pledged to play fewer tournaments this year, as he looks to end an 11-year wait for a major championship.
“So the minimums, I still have to play my 15 events on this tour, so I’ll make sure I fulfil my minimum here,” he said earlier this week. “I played 27 events last year. I think to fulfil both minimums, I need to play around 22, so that’s what I’ll do. I’ll play around 22, so that’s five weeks. That’s an extra 35 days at home, and that’s something that I want to do.”
And McIlroy’s strategy appears to be working after winning one of the PGA Tour’s signature events. The world No. 3 is undoubtedly one of the best players on the planet but struggled to compete with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele last year.
Scheffler dominated golf in 2024 by winning nine tournaments, including the Players Championship, Masters and Olympics. Schauffele, meanwhile, picked up his first two major titles by winning the PGA Championship and the Open Championship.
McIlroy came agonisingly close to winning golf’s other major last year, the US Open, but collapsed during the back end of his final round to hand LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau the title. Yet if McIlroy can continue his good form heading into the Masters in April, there’s every chance he could finally end his lengthy wait for a fifth major crown.
McIlroy was asked what it would mean to win this tournament during a chat with CBS reporter Amanda Balionis on Saturday. He replied: “Historically, the West Coast hasn’t been that good for me. I haven’t played that well over here – I had a top-10 (finish) in the US Open at Pebble but haven’t played great around this golf course.
“I don’t even know if I’ve ever won in California, so tomorrow would be big for a lot of reasons… It’s exciting to try to get my first win of the season.”