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Rory McIlroy has revealed he is following Roger Federer’s advice by playing “where I want to play” in the “back six” of his career. And the Masters champion is set to play fewer events on the PGA Tour.

The world No.2 will seek consecutive wins on the DP World Tour at the BMW PGA this week after clinching the Amgen Irish Open on Sunday.

But after the Ryder Cup, the Ulsterman will tee up in the India Championship next month and then the Australian Open in December. McIlroy completed his career Grand Slam at Augusta in April but has missed three of the eight $20m Signature Events on the PGA Tour this season.

And speaking at his pre-tournament press conference in Wentworth, he said: “I want to go and play in different places in the world and experience things that I haven't experienced before. Twenty years into a career, or 18 years, to be able to do things for the first time. So go to India and play for the first time, that excites me.

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“I don't want to name a tournament, but you're going back to the same place, the same thing 15, 20 years in a row, it can get a little bit monotonous and a little bit tedious.

“I had a chat with Roger Federer a few years ago at the end of his career and he was saying he wanted to go and play a lot of the places he could never play in his career.

"So some of the smaller 250 events just because not a lot of people had never seen him play tennis before. I think as time goes on and I get to this stage of my career, I get excited about doing that sort of thing.”

Back in 2014, McIlroy famously claimed that Tiger Woods, then 38, and Phil Mickelson, then 44, were on “the back 9s of their careers”.

The five-time Major winner now reckons he is on “the back six” and not just because he has completed his career Grand Slam. “Even before I won the Players (in March) I said the same thing,” said McIlroy, 36. “I don't want to be grounding out here at 50 years of age. I'll turn up and play the Majors and have a nice time but whenever I'm done, I'm done, whenever that is.

“That's certainly not right now, but I'm certainly closer to that point now than I was in 2007 when I turned pro. At this point I want to play golf when I want to play golf. I want to play in the locations that I love to go to, and I want to play the majors and the Ryder Cup. That's it. I'm not going to be going by minimums or anything else. Like I'll obviously do my bit to make sure I keep my membership and all that on certain tours, but I'm going to play where I want to play.”

McIlroy will be part of the “older guards” in the European Ryder Cup team which will fly to Bethpage Black after the BMW PGA on Sunday night. “You could make an argument that the 12 guys that we have going to New York are more accomplished golfers than they were two years ago when most of us were in Rome,” he reckoned.

“I will be one of those older guards that's going to be moving on here in the next decade or so, and I'm sure there's going to be great European talent coming to take my spot as well.

McIlroy won the BMW PGA in 2014 and lost a playoff to Billy Horschel here last year. “I feel like I'm playing two home events in a row, and being a resident here now, as well,” he said.

“I think there's still some things in my game that I want to tidy up.But also, I think it's important this week to put in a good performance because that will give you confidence going into the Ryder Cup.”