Rory McIlroy: Northern Irishman focused on winning majors but plotting for life after golf

Rory McIlroy was briefly in contention in Sunday's final round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links

As he returns to the scene of his first European Tour victory, Rory McIlroy believes he still has much to achieve as a top golfer, but his life goals stretch beyond trying to add to 32 professional wins already on his CV.

The biggest question the Northern Irishman faces surrounds his inability to add to his tally of four majors in any of the past seven years and he accepts that landing one of the big four titles is harder now than it has ever been.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with BBC Sport, McIlroy admits the depth in quality at the top of the game is one of the reasons why it has been so difficult land another major title.

But he also explains plans for a life beyond professional competition, outlining the steps he is already taking to build a corporate portfolio. His priority remains golf and the sport is a big part of a growing business empire.

"I don't think anything will ever replace me getting on the golf course and trying to win trophies," said the 32-year-old. "That is the best feeling in the world to me, but there is going to be a point in my life where that's not going to happen."

He hopes that day is some way in the distance. It is clear the former number one, who currently sits eighth in the world rankings, remains hellbent on winning the biggest tournaments in the game.

The wait to add to his four majors - he won the 2011 US Open, 2014 Open and the US PGAs of 2012 and 14 - has lengthened further than he would have been imagined when he first burst on to the scene.

The first two of his majors were each won by eight strokes, before he dominated at Hoylake for his Open victory and won a dogfight with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler to take his second PGA title at Valhalla, the most recent major success.

So why has it taken seven years and counting to add to his collection of golf's biggest prizes? He pauses, more hesitant than usual, before choosing his words: "I think I haven't given myself enough chances," he ventured.

"I think if I'd have had more chances and realistic chances, just putting yourself in those positions, the more comfortable you are going to feel up there. And if you keep knocking on the door, one of those doors is going to open for you.

"I had a chance at Carnoustie in 2018, played the final group with Patrick Reed in 2018 at Augusta, tied for the lead with nine holes to go at the US Open last year at Torrey Pines.

"I've had a few chances and just haven't capitalised. I think players are getting better and better.

"When I last won back in 2014 I'd never heard of [Open champion] Collin Morikawa, I'd never heard of [world number one] Jon Rahm.

"A lot of these guys coming through are playing unbelievably good golf. I don't just have to beat five guys - there's 120, 140 guys very week that you're trying to beat and they're all phenomenally good golfers."

There have been traits of Icarus in his performances of recent years. Last week at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship was a case in point.

He battled high winds to make the cut with a closing birdie last Friday. Then he surged through the field over the weekend to put himself within touching distance of the lead after 13 holes of the final round.

But he had flown too close to the sun, and his chances melted as he pressed in a ragged closing stretch, finishing 12th - five shots behind champion Thomas Pieters.

It is a frustratingly familiar malaise, but this was his first tournament of 2022 and his main objective is to be in the best possible shape for an eighth attempt at completing the career Grand Slam in the Masters at Augusta in April - the only major he is yet to win.

Rory McIlroy has spent 106 weeks as world number one and, along with Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus, is one of three players to win four majors by the age of 25

McIlroy obviously possesses credentials to contend at the very highest level and is quick to point out the level of success he has enjoyed during his wait to win another of those events that define careers.

"I haven't won a major in the last seven years but I've basically won everything else," he said.

"I've won the Players Championship, I've won FedEx Cups, I've won Race to Dubais, I've won World Golf Championships, I've won national opens. You know, I've done a lot in the past seven years.

"That hasn't included a major championship but I've played good enough golf in those seven years to win one and I'm staying as patient as I possibly can and, as I say, just giving myself chances."

Patience, he says, is the key. "I don't think there's anything I should or could do differently. I think the one thing that's held me back, especially in the majors over the last few years, is just getting off to slow starts.

"Take Portrush out of it [where he started the 2019 Open in his native Northern Ireland with a ruinous quadruple-bogey eight].

"Opening up at Augusta with a 72 or a 71 and not shooting that 67 or 68 that puts you right in the thick of the tournament from the very start.

"But I can't go into the first round of a tournament or on a Wednesday night under pressure to try and shoot a good score. I just have to go out there and let it happen.

"Historically when I've got myself up there early in a tournament I've been able to stay there and capitalise on that start."

Capitalisation of a different kind is at the heart of McIlroy's life away from the golf course, with a growing business empire that he hopes will sustain him beyond his competitive days.

"I've no ambition of playing on the senior tour," he said. "If I'm not playing top level golf and competing with the best players in the world I just don't think I will want to play.

"But when that day comes, hopefully not for a long time - another 15 or 18 years - I don't want to be sitting in my house thinking 'OK what do I do?'

"I want to be able to transition into something that I have an interest in that I can get a little bit of buzz from. So yeah, over the last few years I've been, I guess, exposed to the business side of things and I've started to take an interest in it."

McIlroy is part of an investment partnership called Symphony Ventures which is involved in 20 companies across golf, wellness and health. Among them are Troon, the worldwide operator that runs Yas Links which staged last week's Abu Dhabi event.

Other projects include software for the recreational golf industry and Puttery, a hi-tech version of mini golf. "We've invested in a lot of different companies but companies that I'm passionate about and I want to be involved in," he said.

"Stuff to do with wellness, technology and things that can really make a difference, I guess."

Moving into the world of business feels natural to him. "Yes, I'm instinctively interested in it," he agreed.

"I haven't been hugely focused on money but I want to plan for the future. I want to go about things the right way and be smart about it all.

"I have a thirst for knowledge that I probably didn't have in school. All these things that I might have learned in school or if I'd went to university I'm sort of learning now.

"The reason that I read a lot of books and listen to a lot of podcasts is because I want to learn and I want to expand my knowledge on a whole bunch of different things.

"And one of those things has been business and investing and setting up my own investment vehicle."

The golf course still trumps the boardroom, though. Competing against the very best players remains McIlroy's top priority.

This week his focus is the Slync.IO Dubai Desert Classic on the famed Emirates Course where he won his first tour event in 2009 and triumphed again six years later.

When I suggest adding trophy collection to his business empire he smiles. "There you go," he said. "Trophy collecting would be very nice.

"The biggest buzz I always get is coming down the last few holes with the chance to win a golf tournament. It doesn't get any better than that for me."