Rory McIlroy’s Masters win this year was probably one of those PGA Tour stories that underlines heartbreak, perseverance, and continuously showing up to ultimately win it all. Not just the career Grand Slam, but the 14 years of wait that left the Northern Irishman wondering if it will ever be his chance, that’s what the win was all about. And although his Irish golfing partner Shane Lowry joked “Who cares anymore?,” for the competitor inside McIlroy, participating in the Zurich Classic, just 10 days after his huge win, was important.
As the 36-year-old said, playing in the PGA’s only lower pedigree team event “Probably injected a little bit of joy back into golf for me in some way, which I think is really, really important, not to lose that.” And the pair didn’t just attend the event, they competed. However, with Lowry doing most of the heavy lifting, the former reigning champions lost to Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin of the USA. While many were surprised to see the golfer return to the greens so soon, with some breaks along the way, unlike “many champions who would go on a media tour,” his outings since the win at Augusta have missed that World No. 2 spice so far. Now, at the RBC Canadian Open this week, he has explained why the career Grand Slam did not exactly turn into motivation to strive for more.
Talking about his struggles, he shared, “I don’t know if I’m chasing anything. I would certainly say that the last few weeks I’ve had a couple weeks off, and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be. You have this event in your life that you’ve worked towards, and it happens. Sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again.”
While he openly confessed to the lack of motivation, which has been evident in his performances since the Masters, he also said resetting and trying to figure out his next goals is what he is aiming for. “I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I’m at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. Yeah, reset some goals.”
Even now, he is tied at 119th after day 1 at the RBC Canadian Open. While this shocking revelation did send his fans into a frenzy, many came out in support of the Masters champion and agreed with his decision to figure out what the future holds for him.
Fans come out in support of Rory McIlroy’s revelation
Being introduced to the game very early on in life, McIlroy knew he wanted to be the best since having a successful amateur career. That motivation turned into reality with him winning his first major, the 2011 U.S. Open, just a few years after being on the PGA Tour. With 44 professional wins, including 29 on the PGA Tour alone, it’s evident that he has been working hard his entire life to achieve what he has today. So no wonder the fans came ahead and tipped their hats to the Northern Irishman.
“11 years of heartbreak, and he pulled off what he’s worked his whole life to do. It is understandable,” a fan commented, highlighting that Rory McIlroy waited 11 years to achieve his grand slam, winning his last major at the 2014 PGA Championship before the 2025 Masters. Not to mention his first-ever Augusta outing where despite showcasing his s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s for three days, the final round misses took the win away from him.
Another Rory fan commented—”I mean, he clearly still works harder than most But a totally human response that most of us would probably have as well,” supporting McIlroy’s statement of finding it difficult to stick to his usual routine of grinding at the range for 3-4 hours every day. And this is not it. McIlroy, since December last year, has been noting how he will cut his schedule from 22-23 events because of his age and family priorities. Again, a very basic wish.
One fan commented in line with McIlroy being like the rest of us, “Just Rory showing he is human. Seems like a completely rational thing to feel for somebody who has made so much money & recently achieved a major career milestone.” Sure, McIlroy has achieved the career grand slam, is world No. 2, and earned $104,967,688 on the Tour, but he is also human. And being 36 now, with his daughter Poppy, he needs to give his family some time too.
“Expected, he’s suffering a kind of hangover; he’ll be back to his best soon when the hunger returns,” another user commented that this might just be a phase for McIlroy, and we can expect him to be back in form when his hunger to win again returns. But with the U.S. Open and The Open Championship coming soon, this could be a new challenge for him, as he won these two events almost a decade ago. “That makes sense, but he can find something new to work toward,” a user advised, posting in support of McIlroy’s revelation.
While it’s an everyday battle for players to keep finding motivation, without having something to strive for or a target to work for, they are merely just practicing for nothing. For McIlroy to win again and continue winning, he needs to keep his competitive fire alive. And we surely know that he will find his motivation soon enough.
