OAKMONT, Pa. – “You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next.”
For all the talk about Rory McIlroy’s driver issues in recent weeks — the handwringing after one of his worst performances on the PGA Tour last week in Canada and the general rubbernecking that’s followed his career-defining victory at the Masters — McIlroy’s honest assessment about legacy and longevity spoke volumes Tuesday.
A player locked in a generational bout with the immortals of the game would never allow the result — winning the career Grand Slam — to disrupt the process — finding a way to end more than a decade of heartbreak at Augusta National. That’s not how players who want to make history think. So it was no surprise to hear the Northern Irishman acknowledge the career Grand Slam elephant in the room when he spoke with the media ahead of the U.S. Open.
It was hardly a month ago that McIlroy was fresh off his emotional breakthrough at the Masters and the collective was anticipating a dominant, free-spirited run through the year’s remaining major championships.
What has followed is about as far from those lofty predictions as one can imagine. After decent, if not stellar finishes at the Zurich Classic (T-12) and Truist Championship (T-7), McIlroy’s hopes at the PGA Championship were upended on Tuesday when his driver was deemed non-conforming (although he dismissed that notion).
“It wasn’t a big deal for Scottie [Scheffler], so it shouldn’t have been a big deal for me,” said McIlroy, who correctly pointed out that the eventual champion’s driver was also deemed non-conforming.
He followed that pedestrian tie for 47th at Quail Hollow with rounds of 71-78 — the latter, his worst score in a non-major in his Tour career — at last week’s RBC Canadian Open. It was his first missed cut since last year’s Open Championship.
Finding a replacement for his non-conforming driver has been a task as he’s given up over five shots to the field off the tee in his last two starts. He spent the weekend at home in South Florida and concluded, he “wasn’t using the right driver.”
This week’s outrageously difficult exam at Oakmont will certainly test that theory and the would-be favorite has now faded to third on the betting lists behind Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.
But McIlroy’s driving proficiency, or lack of proficiency, is a symptom, not the ailment. We’ve seen McIlroy’s form ebb and flow throughout his career. What this is about is where you go from here.
That magic Sunday at the Masters was the culmination of a lifetime of trial and so much error, and the emotions that spilled out of McIlroy were always going to leave a void that was difficult to replace.
“I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I’m allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit,” McIlroy said before quickly adding, “But here at Oakmont, I certainly can’t relax this week.”
That but is carrying a lot.
There is still plenty for McIlroy to accomplish in 2025 with two majors, including a return to Northern Ireland for next month’s Open Championship, and a Ryder Cup at Bethpage. At 36 years old, he also has plenty of professional real estate ahead of him and at least another decade to add to his legacy.
But reaching your professional Mount Everest has a way of softening even the sharpest competitive edges. One of the most underrated aspects of Tiger Woods’ career is that he kept winning major championships, year after year, decade after decade, long after etching his likeness onto golf’s Mount Rushmore.
This could be nothing more than a competitive hangover. It was less than nine weeks ago that McIlroy struggled up the hill at Augusta National, overwhelmed by emotions and the moment, and to a certain degree, that struggle continues.
Perhaps the most telling moment on Tuesday came when McIlroy was asked if he had a “five-year plan?”
“I don’t have one. I have no idea. I’m sort of just taking it tournament by tournament at this point,” he shrugged. “Yeah, I have no idea.”
Whatever becomes of Rory McIlroy 2.0 — be it a second career driven to be one of the game’s absolute greats or a decade of victory laps and well-earned reflection — it’s clear he’s still trying to figure out what’s next.
