Rory McIlroy has been a professional golfer since 2007, and the Ulsterman has done practically everything there is to do in the game. He's won four majors, three FedEx Cups, The Players Championship, been the DP World Tour No. 1 a half-dozen times.
However, there are still some very evident things that McIlroy hasn't done in his career.
In an interview with BBC Sport, McIlroy identified the three goals he still has in the remainder of his career in professional golf.
"Winning the Masters, winning an Olympic medal and another away Ryder Cup, they are my three goals for the rest of my career," McIlroy said.
For McIlroy, winning the Masters would complete the career Grand Slam, making him the sixth player in the history of the men's professional game to have won all four legs of the modern Grand Slam. He's been snakebitten at Augusta National, having surrendered the opportunity to win in 2011 after a 42 on the second nine led to a final-round 80. In recent years, he's said he's put so much pressure on himself to complete the Grand Slam in the Masters that he's played himself out of the tournament before it even starts. McIlroy has hinted at retiring were he to win the Masters.
The former world No. 1 has won a Ryder Cup on the road, back in 2012 in the Miracle at Medinah, where he first encountered his wife, Erica. He has appeared in seven Ryder Cups (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2023), winning in all of the European-hosted versions of the event. He's gone 1-2 on the road, however, and he hopes to win another. His next opportunity to do so is likely in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage State Park's Black Course in New York.
The last goal of winning an Olympic gold is a more recently developed goal. McIlroy originally shunned the Olympics when golf returned to the program in 2016 over fears of Zika virus in Brazil. However, he represented the Republic of Irleand in the 2021 Tokyo tournament and in 2024 in Paris, where he finished T-5.
"I don’t feel like I’ve let the game down at all. I didn’t get into the game of golf to try and grow the game. I tried to get into golf to win major championships and all of a sudden you get to this point and there’s a responsibility on you to grow the game," McIlroy said in 2016.
“I get that but at the same time that’s not the reason I got into golf. I got into golf to win – not to get other people into the game. I get that different people have different opinions but I’m very happy with the decision I’ve made and I’ve got no regrets about it. I’m sure I’ll be watching the Olympics but I’m not sure golf will be one of the events I’ll watch.”
