Rory McIlroy reacts to new tracker that monitors golf players' travel emissions

Rory McIlroy has embraced the decision of the DP World Tour to launch a player travel emissions tracker. In a bid to reduce the carbon footprint of members, the tracker will enable stars to track and calculate their distances covered over the course of a season.

The tour has cited a desire to help cut greenhouse gas emissions, a cause which McIlroy himself has previously championed.

The current schedule consists of more than 40 tournaments in 24 different countries, with the top players also travelling further afield for PGA Tour and major championship events.

McIlroy, 35, has reportedly been trying to reduce his own greenhouse gas emissions since 2020, when tournaments were able to proceed despite the Covid-19 pandemic. And he’s now spoken in favour of the launch, implying all players have a responsibility to be aware of the environment.

“We have the opportunity to travel all over the world doing the job we love,” he said. “But I do have a conscience about the impact that can have on the environment. I think we can all play our part in some way or another.”

He’s not the only DP World Tour member to back the initiative. Spanish golfer Rafa Cabrera-Bello has also vowed to be an example to the rising stars of the game, and urged other senior pro’s to follow suit.

“I will join the Tour’s initiative, because I think it’s the right thing to do,” said the 40-year-old. “We are many of the younger generation’s role-models, so you always want to lead by example.”

The project, which has been called the ‘Platform’, will go live at the start of the 2025 DP World Tour season in November. The trackers have been created by the tour’s IT department, with support from the GEO Sustainable Golf Foundation.

Organisers have previously stated that a target has been set for 90 per cent of players across the DP World Tour, Challenge Tour, Legends Tour and G4D Tour to offset their tournament travel by 2027. The DP tour currently consists of more than 800 members.

Golf isn’t the only sport to have publicly committed to reducing carbon emissions. Formula 1 is currently in the midst of am ambitious place to achieve net zero carbon by 2030, targeting travel and energy use at factories and Grand Prix races.

In football, FIFA has shared it aims to reduce emissions across events as part of its climate strategy. The authority has outlined plans to be carbon neutral as an organisation by 2040.