Rory McIlroy’s 2025 schedule isn’t over yet, with the Northern Irishman now looking ahead to the Golf Channel Games.
But after the exhibition match against Scottie Scheffler, he’ll get a break, something he’s probably looking forward to after a packed 2025 calendar.
It hasn’t just been busy; it’s been successful. His win at The Masters stands out as the headline moment of the year.
Add to that a Ryder Cup win and his involvement in TGL’s first season, and it’s clear why McIlroy might need some time off before thinking about what comes next.
Michael Thorbjornsen signs with Rory McIlroy’s TGL team for 2025
The league, co-founded by McIlroy and Tiger Woods, is scheduled to return for its second season in January. There’s already been a notable change to one of the teams.
McIlroy broke the news on The Shotgun Start: “We have a new member of the team who I practiced with this morning, Michael Thorbjornsen.
“I am breaking some news! So we have some fresh blood. I think that could make the difference.”
Speaking about why he made the decision, he explained: “Hideki and Adam are world travellers. Hideki will be in Japan and Adam will be in Australia for the first game we play on January 2nd.
“So Michael has come in and it’s going to be Michael, Keegan and myself. We are feeling pretty good!”
Who is Michael Thorbjornsen?
Thorbjornsen, an American player who turned pro in 2024, has made 45 starts on the PGA Tour up to this point.
While he’s still searching for his first win, he did finish second at this year’s Corales Puntacana Championship and also took third place at the Baycurrent Classic.
The 24-year-old has come close twice with runner-up finishes and has earned $3,568,248 so far in his PGA Tour career.
McIlroy says any Ryder Cup issues with Keegan Bradley are behind them
The topic came up again in 2025, this time because of his TGL teammate, Keegan Bradley.
When asked if any tension was still there, McIlroy said: “There might have been for like a week or two after that but we have gotten past that!”
Bradley didn’t take the loss well, having captained the US team to a disappointing defeat against Europe at Bethpage Black.
Since then, he’s played in The Skins Game alongside McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood. He took home $2.1 million from that event – not a bad consolation prize – and with another TGL season coming up, there’s plenty for him to focus on outside of the Ryder Cup result.