“I'm still ambitious” - McIlroy wins RTE Sportsperson the Year
Rory McIlroy hopes that 2025 won't go down as the greatest season of his career but he’s ready to accept it he may never reach such heights again.
Speaking to RTE’s Greg Allen after accepting his award as the 2025 RTE Sportsperson the Year following a remarkable season, the Holywood star said he hopes to go on to enjoy many more “massive moments” with the 2028 Olympic Games and more success in Majors and Ryder Cups at the top of his list of goals.
“I'm very proud to win my third RTE Sportsperson of the Year,” McIlroy said. “2025 has been an incredible year for me. I think if I rewound to 12 months ago and I was looking forward to 2025, and what I thought it would look like, I don't think I could have came up with this year my wildest dreams.
“The Masters, the Irish Open, the Ryder Cup. It's been a dream season, and I just want to say to everyone at home, thank you so much for your support.
“I feel it out there on the golf course and when I'm travelling around the world. And you know, it's not lost on me how much support I get from back home.”
As for his ambitions, he confessed that winning an Olympic medal in Los Angeles in 2028 is a clear goal.
“Yeah, I think that's a fair point. I think at this part of my career, I'm looking for those, you know, big tournaments and massive moments. Major championships in golf are one of those. Ryder Cups. And then, you know, obviously the Olympics.
“I've had a taste of two Olympic Games now, Tokyo and Paris, and I've been pretty close to getting a medal both times.
“So 2028 in LA I'd love to give myself another chance to get on that podium and bring a medal back to Ireland.”
After winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Players, the Masters, the Amgen Irish Open, the Ryder Cup on US soil and a seventh Race to Dubai, McIlroy admitted it will be tough to improve on 2025.
“You know, I think mentally, I have to be comfortable with maybe this is going to be my best year ever,” he said. “Who knows? I hope it's not, you know. I hope I still have many more great years ahead of me.
“But you know, no matter what I do going forward, I'm only ever going to be able to win my first Masters once. And I really enjoyed that.
“And I've relished the opportunity to bring the green jacket around the world and show it off.
“It's been a wonderful year, but I still think that I've got a lot more to achieve. So I'm still ambitious.
“I still feel pretty young, injury-free, so hopefully I’ve a lot of good years ahead of me.”
