PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – If context is king, Rory McIlroy’s press conference early Wednesday at The Players Championship certainly needs its share of qualifiers.

On the eve of the circuit’s flagship event, the Northern Irishman was asked about a potential career on the PGA Tour Champions and the headlines were immediately predictable: “McIlroy on senior tour: Absolutely not.”

McIlroy was clear about his over-50 plans: “Absolutely not,” he said. “I will not play Champions Tour golf. Look, I’ve said a lot of absolutes in my time that I’ve walked back, but I do not envision playing Champions Tour golf. Something has went terribly wrong if I have to compete at golf at 50.”

What will likely be lost in the aggregation is the line of questioning that led to McIlroy’s take. He was asked how he imagines his career “winding down.”

“I look at other sports, I turned pro in 2007. I’m 18 years into a career. Not a lot of athletes can say they’ve had an 18-year career, and I’m only 35,” he explained. “I can acknowledge how lucky golfers are to be able to do what they do for so long compared to other athletes, so whenever I feel like the time is right, I’ll have no problem moving aside and letting the next generation do their thing.”

McIlroy, who added that he still has plenty of things he hopes to accomplish in his golf career, has myriad interests outside of golf including as the co-founder of TGL and a growing business portfolio, which at least partially explains the 27-time Tour winner’s take on the over-50 circuit.