The year of Rory proved the purest joy is in the unknown journey

The past 12 months with Rory McIlroy was all about taking us to unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable, often unforgettable places.

YEAR OF RORY: Rory McIlroy celebrates with the fans during the Sunday singles matches of the 2025 Ryder Cup. Pic: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

When Rory met Rory. That was a little gem of a moment you didn’t see on any of the end-of-year McIlroy montages. To be fair to every editor on the planet who’s been tasked with putting one together, an awful lot of good stuff got left on the cutting room floor. What a bloody year.

But Rory and Rory. That was worth getting up at five on a Wednesday morning and traipsing a full 90 minutes north of Toronto to see. McIlroy was on the first hole of Pro Am day at the RBC Canadian Open, making his return to the game after a break away. Greeting him on the tee box as the sun began its morning pour was a tottering two-year-old, bedecked in a two-year-old-sized Green Jacket.