The change Rory McIlroy made to his personal life in 2020 to help him on the PGA Tour

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Rory McIlroy is one of the most impressive athletes of the modern era and when it comes to natural talent, there have been few better golfers.

McIlroy now has five majors to his name and in 2025, wrote his name into the history books by finally landing the grand slam by winning at Augusta National.

Still, while McIlroy is an impressive talent and his work ethic cannot be questioned, some of his success can be attributed to other facets of life.

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Indeed, speaking back in 2020, McIlroy admitted he’d very much picked up a new hobby away from the course to help him.

Rory McIlroy’s new hobby that helped him on the PGA Tour

Rory McIlroy has always been someone who is willing to learn and do things to help him find those extra percentiles in his game.

Ultimately, that is why he is one of the best golfers in the world.

And looking back at his comments to the PGA Tour website in 2020, McIlroy admitted he had turned to reading certain books to help him.

“Books,” McIlroy said. “I have some on my phone and e-books just as references, and you can highlight stuff, but I take it in more when I’m holding the book and get to turn the pages.

“I spend enough time around a lot of impressive people, and one of the common denominators, always, is they read a lot. Readers are usually successful people and great people to be around. I had read before, but it had always been biographies and fictional stuff.

“Over the last couple of years, I’ve gotten more into the psychology or self-help or that sort of stuff.”

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Rory McIlroy’s reading finally paid off in 2025

Sometimes, the hardest journeys in sport are the longest and for Rory McIlroy, it must have felt like he was never going to win another major at one point.

However, in 2025 he got the ultimate reward as he won The Masters and from the outside looking in, you have to say his readings will have helped him.

The psychological blow of throwing away the US Open in 2024 was massive so for him to come back and win under pressure in 2025 was huge.

McIlroy’s playoff record in 2025 too – two from three – shows he is in tune mentally. As he gets older, McIlroy may well need to lean on such learnings even more.