Rory McIlroy says golfers are ‘lucky’ while being candid about Major championships schedule 

Rory McIlroy thinks golfers are ‘lucky’ compared to other athletes. The four-time Major champion compared other sports’ schedules with golf and said he was ‘incredibly grateful’ to play the Major championships multiple times a year.

For the unversed, McIlroy had once commented that he likes being a golfer because ‘even if I fail, I can move on to the next thing.’ Recently, journalist Kyle Porter brought up the remark while in conversation with the PGA Tour star. Replying to this, the Irishman noted that the Olympic golf experience made him comment.

He said golfers get four chances every year at four Major championships, unlike most other sports where they get one big event a year. The 35-year-old golfer reiterated that players like him get “few opportunities a year to add to our careers and to our legacy.”

Rory McIlroy told Kyle Porter, as quoted in the Normal Sports Newsletter:

“I think that my Olympic experiences have made me incredibly grateful that I play golf… The most important thing to me is that I get a chance at them four times a year, not once every four years. Yeah. So compared to other sports, I think we're really lucky that, ‘Okay, if it doesn't happen for us in April, we have May.

"And if it doesn't happen for us in May, we have June. And if it doesn't happen for us in June, we have July.’ And then if that doesn't happen, then July to the next April is somewhat tougher. But I think that we have a few opportunities a year to add to our careers and to our legacy. We're in a lot more fortunate positions than some other sports people.”

For the unversed, Rory McIlroy has played twice in the Olympic men’s golf competition in 2020 and 2024. He finished fifth on the leaderboard in the Paris competition held earlier this year.

---

Rory McIlroy’s PGA Tour season so far

Rory McIlroy has had an illustrious career. The 35-year-old golfer has 26 PGA Tour wins, including four Major championships. He won the US Open in 2011, the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014, and The Open Championship in 2014.

His other notable achievements include winning the TOUR Championship thrice in 2016, 2019 and 2022.

---

Here’s the complete list of the Irishman’s PGA Tour wins including Major championships:

• 2010 - Quail Hollow Championship
• 2011 - US Open
• 2012 - BMW Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship, PGA Championship, The Honda Classic
• 2014 - PGA Championship, World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, The Open Championship
• 2015 - Wells Fargo Championship, World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play
• 2016 - TOUR Championship, Deutsche Bank Championship
• 2018 - Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard
• 2019 - TOUR Championship **, RBC Canadian Open, THE PLAYERS Championship
• 2020 - World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions
• 2021 - Wells Fargo Championship
• 2022 - TOUR Championship **, RBC Canadian Open, THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT
• 2023 - Genesis Scottish Open, THE CJ CUP in South Carolina
• 2024 - Wells Fargo Championship, Zurich Classic of New Orleans

Apart from the PGA Tour wins, Rory McIlroy has 79 top-5 and 125 top-10 finishes in 257 starts on the Tour. He has officially earned a whopping $90,989,348 from the circuit. The golfer also has 10 international event wins to his name. He has played seven times on the European Ryder Cup team (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2023).