Rory McIlroy points out one of the most ‘under appreciated things’ in any sport ahead of the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy believes longevity is one of the most overlooked achievements in any sport. As he prepares for the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, the World No. 2 stressed how staying at the top of professional golf requires more effort than reaching it.

McIlroy knows this better than most. Over his career, he has won five major championships, including the Masters earlier this year to complete his career Grand Slam, along with three FedExCup titles, six Race to Dubai wins, and 29 PGA Tour victories. His consistency has kept him among the world’s elite for over a decade.

Speaking in his Wednesday, July 9, press conference, Rory McIlroy compared the demands of golf to other sports, saying:

"I think it’s one of the underappreciated things about any sport and anyone, like you look at what Novak Djokovic is doing at Wimbledon over the last couple of weeks, or what someone like Cristiano Ronaldo is still doing at 40 years old, or a Tom Brady in American football. That longevity piece, I think, is something that maybe isn't talked about enough because once you get to a certain level."

"I feel like the journey on the way up is almost, it's not, I'm not going to say it's easy, but you have that momentum and you're riding that wave to the top and then once you get there, yeah, it takes just as much work if not more work to stay there," he added.

The World No. 2 has taken a break since finishing in a tie for sixth at the Travelers Championship last month, which saw a welcome upturn in form following a testing run since his Augusta triumph.

Rory McIlroy returns to the Genesis Scottish Open after finishing fourth last year. He lifted the trophy in 2023 and will be among the favorites again this week as he looks to continue his strong form following a T6 finish at the Travelers Championship.

When will Rory McIlroy tee off at the Genesis Scottish Open Round One?

Rory McIlroy will make his 13th start of the 2025 PGA Tour season at the Genesis Scottish Open. He is scheduled to tee off on Thursday at 8:43 a.m. from the first hole. McIlroy is paired with Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele for the opening round.

Rory McIlroy at the Travelers Championship - Third Round - Source: Imagn

Here are the full tee times for Thursday’s first round:

Tee No. 1

• 2:00 a.m. – Joel Dahmen, Ryan Gerard, Marcel Schneider
• 2:11 a.m. – Henrik Norlander, Darius Van Driel, Ugo Coussaud
• 2:22 a.m. – Dylan Frittelli, Denny McCarthy, Romain Langasque
• 2:33 a.m. – Matt McCarty, Gary Woodland, Eugenio Chacarra
• 2:44 a.m. – Nico Echavarria, Taylor Moore, Marcel Siem
• 2:55 a.m. – Matthieu Pavon, Lee Hodges, Keita Nakajima
• 3:06 a.m. – Karl Vilips, Joe Highsmith, Thorbjørn Olesen
• 3:17 a.m. – Jhonattan Vegas, Jake Knapp, Daniel Hillier
• 3:28 a.m. – Andrew Putnam, Brandon Stone, Frederic Lacroix
• 3:39 a.m. – Mackenzie Hughes, Nacho Elvira, Elvis Smylie
• 3:50 a.m. – Ryo Hisatsune, Yannik Paul, David Ravetto
• 4:01 a.m. – Brandt Snedeker, Andy Sullivan, Angel Hidalgo
• 4:12 a.m. – Max McGreevy, Aaron Cockerill, Hongtaek Kim
• 7:15 a.m. – Michael Kim, Samuel Stevens, Jordan Gumberg
• 7:26 a.m. – Jacob Bridgeman, Victor Perez, Pablo Larrazábal
• 7:37 a.m. – Brian Campbell, Si Woo Kim, Shaun Norris
• 7:48 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Rasmus Højgaard, Daniel Brown
• 7:59 a.m. – Harry Hall, Luke Donald, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
• 8:10 a.m. – Harris English, Byeong Hun An, Kristoffer Reitan
• 8:21 a.m. – Brian Harman, Matt Fitzpatrick, Ewen Ferguson
• 8:32 a.m. – Aldrich Potgieter, Ryan Fox, Justin Rose
• 8:43 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Xander Schauffele
• 8:54 a.m. – J.J. Spaun, Tommy Fleetwood, Connor Syme
• 9:05 a.m. – Tom Kim, Daniel Berger, Marco Penge
• 9:16 a.m. – Thriston Lawrence, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Alex Fitzpatrick
• 9:27 a.m. – Alex Smalley, David Ford, Francesco Laporta

Tee No. 10

• 2:00 a.m. – Sami Välimäki, Isaiah Salinda, Ockie Strydom
• 2:11 a.m. – Paul Waring, Bernd Wiesberger, Sean Crocker
• 2:22 a.m. – Davis Riley, Richie Ramsay, Guido Migliozzi
• 2:33 a.m. – Maverick McNealy, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nicolai Højgaard
• 2:44 a.m. – Aaron Rai, Haotong Li, Jordan Smith
• 2:55 a.m. – Corey Conners, Padraig Harrington, Calum Hill
• 3:06 a.m. – Wyndham Clark, Sungjae Im, John Parry
• 3:17 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Justin Thomas, Laurie Canter
• 3:28 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Adam Scott
• 3:39 a.m. – Ludvig Åberg, Collin Morikawa, Martin Couvra
• 3:50 a.m. – Thomas Detry, Sam Burns, Adrien Saddier
• 4:01 a.m. – Danny Walker, Johannes Veerman, Alejandro Del Rey
• 4:12 a.m. – Rikuya Hoshino, Joe Dean, Ryggs Johnston
• 7:15 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Jacques Kruyswijk, Dan Bradbury
• 7:26 a.m. – Matti Schmid, Niklas Norgaard, Matthew Jordan
• 7:37 a.m. – Danny Willett, Antoine Rozner, Richard Mansell
• 7:48 a.m. – Kevin Yu, Taylor Pendrith, Julien Guerrier
• 7:59 a.m. – Erik van Rooyen, Francesco Molinari, Sebastian Söderberg
• 8:10 a.m. – Nick Taylor, Keith Mitchell, Adrian Otaegui
• 8:21 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Tom Hoge, Simon Forsström
• 8:32 a.m. – Matt Wallace, Alex Noren, Ashun Wu
• 8:43 a.m. – Alejandro Tosti, Dale Whitnell, Sam Bairstow
• 8:54 a.m. – Matteo Manassero, Jorge Campillo, Grant Forrest
• 9:05 a.m. – Patrick Rodgers, Jesper Svensson, Dylan Naidoo
• 9:16 a.m. – Max Greyserman, Yuto Katsuragawa, Wooyoung Cho
• 9:27 a.m. – Luke Clanton, Junghwan Lee, Todd Clements