When you have spent so long labouring under a burden associated with the reaching of targets, it would seem ridiculous to set more. At Augusta National this month Rory McIlroy didn’t just win the Masters. He didn’t just complete his career Grand Slam. He didn’t just end a wait for a fifth major that had stretched back to his halcyon summer of 2014. McIlroy did all of this at once; his emotion on the 18th green was partly because of the almighty weight that had been prised from his shoulders.
McIlroy’s subsequent celebration was endearing, but also thought-provoking. He spent time with his parents, his wider family, his lifetime coach and childhood friends. There was no open-top bus parade through the streets of his native Holywood or wild party at the golf club bearing the same name. No public lap of honour. All of that can wait.
Of course McIlroy wanted to dedicate his achievement to those who have been with him on every step of a thrilling journey. But there was also a subliminal message: he has more to do in 2025. Or as he put it last week: “This isn’t the end of a career. It is just a new chapter.” There is a lot of golf – a lot of meaningful golf – left this year.
Convention says McIlroy should aim for Nick Faldo’s tally of half a dozen majors or look to press home the sense that he is Europe’s greatest golfing export by shooting for double figures. What about toppling Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1? If McIlroy was to articulate any such intentions, he would create the narrative he has worked hard to escape. Why the wait for that sixth major, Rory? He is smart not to bother.
“I don’t think I need to do that,” says McIlroy of goal setting. “What’s next is just, how do I keep playing this way? I won the Players Championship a few weeks ago. I won at Pebble Beach a few weeks before that. If I keep playing the way I am, anything is possible. If I can produce the shots I needed to over the last few holes at Augusta, feeling as I was feeling then I am pretty capable of doing anything in this game.”
It is impossible to argue. Never again will McIlroy will play under the stresses and strains associated with the 89th Masters. Indeed, the fact McIlroy has won three times this year was largely ignored in the Masters analysis. The Green Jacket did not just fall into his lap. It was a continuation of superb form. The key question surrounds how long McIlroy can ride this wave. Will there be fatigue after Augusta or is the 35-year-old is more uninhibited than at any stage in his career? He is playing with the biggest stash of house money imaginable.
At the Zurich Classic this past week, McIlroy’s first post-Masters start, he was not two feet taller or capable of pounding the ball 20 yards further. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the grand slam man, but the remarkable thing about McIlroy’s demeanour and behaviour was how unremarkable it all was. A share of 12th alongside his partner, Shane Lowry, was a perfectly acceptable return. McIlroy had eased back on to the course. He has one more start before his next major.
This is set up to be a fascinating year even by McIlroy’s lofty standards. He has won four times at Quail Hollow, where the US PGA Championship takes place in mid-May. In 2019 McIlroy’s friend Lowry showed what can happen when an Irishman prevails in an Open at Royal Portrush. The R&A are cramming them into the Dunluce Links for 2025, partly due to McIlroy Mania. He also has the resilience and creativity required to challenge for the US Open at Oakmont.
McIlroy does have a stated intention of winning another Ryder Cup on American soil; Bethpage in September provides the opportunity, such is the rag-tag nature of the US setup. Europeans are rightly quietly confident about defending the trophy.
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It could be that nothing tops the Masters moment. He could win at Augusta again and it surely would not compare. Ryder Cups are terrific in the sense they resonate beyond golf, but nobody takes the result seriously for long. The same point could be made about the Olympics. Portrush, a venue where McIlroy shot 61 as a 16-year-old, has scope to make a difference, but McIlroy has raised the Claret Jug before.
There will be only one completion of the grand slam, one scene absorbing years of frustration, one maiden visit to the Butler Cabin. Jordan Spieth could complete his own grand slam at Quail Hollow without anything like the broader reaction associated with McIlroy. There was something materially emotionally different about McIlroy’s triumph, as emphasised by the range of people who congratulated him for it.
Whether all this makes McIlroy more dangerous or otherwise remains to be seen. All history tells us is that the next stage will provide compelling viewing.