The 2025 season will be forever remembered as a significant year in the career of Rory McIlroy as the Northern Irishman clinched The Masters title and became the sixth male player to complete the Career Grand Slam.
Not only did McIlroy win The Masters, but he also managed to win The Players Championship for a second time.
The 36-year-old also shone as Europe won the Ryder Cup in New York. And to round off the year, McIlroy clinched a seventh Order of Merit title on the DP World Tour.
But it would be wrong to suggest that McIlroy was consistently successful throughout 2025.
Rory McIlroy was the fourth worst player on the PGA Tour in 2025 in one category
Rory McIlroy seemed to struggle for motivation in the weeks after his triumph at Augusta National.
He missed the cut at the Canadian Open while he only managed to finish inside the top 20 at the US Open after a stunning round of 67 on Sunday at Oakmont.
That mid-season slump may have contributed to McIlroy ending the season as the fourth-worst player on the PGA Tour in one particular category.
It turns out that McIlroy hit just 51.24 per cent of his fairways throughout the year. Only Nick Dunlap, Peter Malnati, and Frankie Capan III performed worse.
Rory McIlroy’s other driving statistics on the PGA Tour this season
It is a remarkable statistic when you consider just how much of a strength driving has been throughout McIlroy’s career. There are few sights in golf which are more impressive than the five-time major champion with the driver in his hand.
In fact, McIlroy is fourth on tour for strokes gained off the tee. He is also second for driving distance at 323 yards.
That just shows that, in the modern game, hitting fairways is less important than making sure you are well down the hole and have a shorter club into the green.
But it is still quite a surprise to see McIlroy be one of the worst players on the PGA Tour when it comes to finding the short grass off the tee.