Rory McIlroy may well have had the best year of his golfing career in 2025.
During Team Europe’s celebrations after winning the Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy said to his wife, “What a year”.
What a year indeed. McIlroy completed the career grand slam by winning The Masters. He won the Irish Open, The Players, and Pebble Beach, then capped it all off with his second away Ryder Cup victory.
McIlroy completed a dream career resume for most professional players in just one season. But the year wasn’t without its struggles. McIlroy was frosty with the press and didn’t speak with the media countless times after winning the Masters.
His performances dropped off considerably until he returned home for The Open Championship, where he found some form at the Genesis Scottish Open.
He may well win the Golfer of the Year award over Scottie Scheffler, despite the world number one’s dominant 2025. But there has been one big weakness in McIlroy’s game, which has seen him play his way out of tournaments.
Rory McIlroy’s glaring weakness is with his driving
McIlroy is known as one of the best drivers of the golf ball in the game. Along with Bryson DeChambeau, he’s among golf’s longest-hitters off the tee, and when his driver is locked in, McIlroy is nearly unplayable.
Data Golf says McIlroy is better than 97% of players in strokes gained from driving distance, but while the club is his biggest strength, it’s also his biggest flaw.
McIlroy’s only weakness in his game, according to Data Golf, is his driving accuracy. It’s the one area where he actually loses strokes (on average, McIlroy loses 0.8 strokes from driving accuracy).
| Rory McIlroy | Strokes gained |
| Driving Distance | +2.4 |
| Driving Accuracy | -0.8 |
| Approach | +1.2 |
| Putting | +2.1 |
| Around Green | +1 |
He’s ranked in the bottom 22% of players in accuracy off the tee, leaving him consistently out of position on his second shot.
As one of the game’s best iron players, McIlroy can often work his way back on line after a wayward tee shot. But his success in this department is dependent on the course, and we have seen that throughout the year.
Ryder Cup setup eliminated Rory McIlroy’s weakness
This could explain why McIlroy had so much success at the Ryder Cup, where he went 3-1-1 in 2025. Keegan Bradley cut down the rough at Bethpage Black, making it a non-penalty according to McIlroy before the tournament.
The Northern Irishman was able to let loose with the driver in the knowledge that any wayward shots wouldn’t affect his approach to the green. His biggest weakness had been eliminated.
To a lesser extent, that was also the case during his win at Augusta. McIlroy found himself out of position often at The Masters, but was able to work shots onto the green with incredible iron control.
Meanwhile, on courses where the rough punished players, McIlroy struggled. The U.S. Open was a clear example of this. The thick rough at Oakmont saw McIlroy finish seven over par for the tournament in T19. He was never in contention for the win.
While Scheffler seems to threaten the top of the leaderboard week in, week out with his well-rounded game, McIlroy’s weakness off the tee makes him too course-reliant to fight for every win.
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