McIlroy on retirement: “I'd like to walk away maybe a little before I should”
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy expressed sympathy for Tiger Woods after his latest injury setback and insisted he’d like to retire when he has “a little bit left in the tank.”
Speaking on the eve of the Players Championship, where he is drawn with Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, the world number two reiterated his vow not to play senior golf when he hits 50.
The Holywood star (35) said he would have no problem stepping aside and allowing the younger generation to have their chance to shine.
But he’s hoping he will have achieved all his career goals by then.
“I think when I've achieved everything I want to achieve in the game, and I get to the point where I don't think I can maybe do that anymore,” he said of the best time to hang up his spikes.
“I’d also like to walk away with a little bit left in the tank. I don't want to be out there embarrassing myself. I'd like to walk away maybe a little before I should. Put it that way.
“There's always one more, but that's okay. I think if you can come to terms with that and walk away on your own terms, then that's a good thing.”
As for the news that Woods, his partner in the indoor TGL venture, had ruptured his Achilles tendon and will likely be out of the game until 2026, he was hugely sympathetic.
“Yeah. It sucks,” he said. “He doesn't have much luck when it comes to injuries and his body.
“Obviously, he was trying to ramp up to get ready for Augusta, and Achilles surgeries obviously aren't fun. Hoping he's in good spirits and hoping he's doing okay.
“We obviously won't see him play golf this year, and hopefully we see him maybe play in 2026.”
Woods revealed on Tuesday that he suffered the latest in a long series of injuries while training at home ahead of a possible competitive return in next month's Masters at Augusta National.
“Well, he said he'd only touched a club three times or something, so I wouldn't say he'd have been necessarily close,” McIlroy said of Woods’ preparedness for the Masters and his frequent TGL appearances.
“But he was obviously trying to get closer by ramping up and training and practising and doing whatever he was doing.
“Yeah, I'd say he was trying to catch up on some lost time there.”
As for his own retirement, McIlroy said he’d have no problem walking away from the game if he was no longer competitive.
“I'll be okay with that,” he said. “I'm very happy to move aside for the younger generation to come through.
“I look at other sports, and I've had an unbelievable -- I turned pro in 2007. I'm 18 years into a career. Not a lot of athletes can say they've had an 18-year career, and I'm only 35.
“I can acknowledge how lucky golfers are to be able to do what they do for so long compared to other athletes, so whenever I feel like the time is right, I'll have no problem moving aside and letting the next generation do their thing.”
Unlike Padraig Harrington, he has no interest in playing the Champions Tour.
“Absolutely not,”’ McIlroy said. “I will not play Champions Tour golf.
“Look, I've said a lot of absolutes in my time that I've walked back, but I do not envision playing Champions Tour golf.
“Something has went (sic) terribly wrong if I have to compete at golf at 50.”
