Rory McIlroy shared an unusual answer when asked how he has worked on improving his game during the off-season.
And that’s because it had nothing to do with golf whatsoever – he just wanted to ‘have fun’.
McIlroy is set to make his much-anticipated return to the tee at this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic, as he aims for a remarkable hat-trick of titles.
And it appears he has been savouring his time away from the sport by ticking off some of his vacation bucket list – including travelling to Germany to watch Borussia Dortmund in action.
“I’ve been working on having fun,” he said ahead of the Dubai Desert Classic – which runs from January 15 to January 19.
“Took a couple of trips on my time off. I went to a Borussia Dortmund game on Friday night.
“I’ve just been doing things that I’ve always wanted to do. I went to New Zealand for a few days, which was a lot of fun and something I’ve wanted to do for a while.
“Honestly, just trying to enjoy myself. It’s the only part of the year I feel like I can really unwind and do that.
“There’s plenty of time from now until April to knuckle down and get the game in good shape, and I just wanted to make the most of the time off.”
When reflecting on the opportunity to become just the fifth player to win the same DP World Tour event three years running, McIlroy confessed that making history is a delightful bonus, but not his primary focus.
He will join the likes of legends Ian Woosnam, Sir Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, and Ernie Els.
“It’s always been nice to start my year in Dubai,” he said. “It’s something that I’ve done most of my professional career.
“The last couple years to come here to Dubai, open the season, have success, obviously it’s really nice to get off to a strong start to the season. That’s the plan again this year.
“I think I talked about it the end of last year, and obviously winning the Seve Ballesteros Award, I think to be able to put my name up alongside the European greats of golf, Seve Ballesteros, Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, like all these guys, it’s amazing.
“My goal is to go out and try to get the best out of myself and play as good as I can, and thankfully that’s ended up in winning a few tournaments here and there.
“But my mindset has never been, ‘Oh, if I do this, I will equal him, or if I do that’.
“I want to win tournaments, and it’s really cool on Sunday nights to sit there with a glass of wine and look at all the names that are on the trophy and think that my name is alongside them. That’s really cool.
“It’s nice to knuckle down. I feel like my game is in good shape. I’ve been close to doing some really good things in the game of golf over the last few years. I have done some really good things.
“But I understand that the window is very slowly closing, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to have the best career I possibly can.”
As he prepares for this week, McIlroy anticipates needing to conquer a more demanding setup at Emirates Golf Club if he wants to clinch a third consecutive title.
“I love the thick rough,” he added. “I love the set-up of the golf course.
“The greens are quite a bit firmer today than they were on Monday. So as the week goes on, I think it’s going to be a great test of golf, which I think we all want to play and I think that’s what you all want to watch.”
This week also brought the exciting news that McIlroy had secured an award even before the tournament commenced.
He has been honored with the 2024 Seve Ballesteros Award after being voted Player of the Year by his fellow competitors on the DP World Tour for the fourth time.
This Player of the Year Award, named in honor of the late, great Ballesteros, merges the former Golfer of the Year Award, which was combined in 2021 to create a single honor voted on by the DP World Tour’s members.
“The Seve Ballesteros Award is special, as well, because it’s voted on by your peers,” McIlroy said.
“They are the ones that have been out there on the course with you week-in, week-out, playing the same golf courses, competing.
“So to get their vote is very meaningful. I said to Javier, the legacy that his dad left on not just European golf but global golf will live on forever.
“Our whole motivation that we rally around on the Ryder Cup team is Seve, and we feel like we have an advantage because of that.”