Following his long-awaited Masters victory in April, Rory McIlroy shared a very honest assessment of his current mindset.
McIlroy’s win marked the end of a very long wait for his first Masters title, cementing his place among golfing legends such as Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan, and Gene Sarazen, who have all achieved the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters, The Open Championship, the US Open, and the PGA Championship.
Since his triumph, the 36-year-old has scaled back his golfing commitments, participating in only a select few events. At the RBC Canadian Open, one of his scheduled appearances, McIlroy confessed to journalists that claiming the Masters has altered his mindset, albeit not entirely positively.
The Northern Irish golfer added that he is uncertain about what specifically drives him now that he has secured the Masters title. “Yeah, I don’t know if I’m chasing anything,” McIlroy admitted to reporters.
“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.”
McIlroy also candidly opened up on the challenges he’s faced in finding new ambitions. “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.”
Post-Masters, the golf star has kept a low profile, only appearing at the Truist Championship and PGA Championship while opting out of the Memorial Tournament. His performance at the PGA Championship did not meet his usual standards, with McIlroy finishing in a tie for 47th.
“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,” McIlroy mused, acknowledging the importance of reassessing his objectives. “Yeah, reset some goals.
“I thought it was a good time to reset some goals. I’ve had a pretty good first half of the season, and I want to have a good second half of the season now, too.”
Some golf followers, including McIlroy’s putting coach Brad Faxon, believe that clinching the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam might be the ideal juncture for him to retire.
“Nobody would fault him if he said, ‘I’m good, I don’t have to do this anymore’,” said Faxon on ‘The Smylie Show’ podcast.
He added: “I am in that awkward and interesting position of having been part of Rory’s team for so long now. To reach that goal, and to do it at the Masters. I always thought Rory would definitely win more majors before he won the Masters. I didn’t know he would win the Masters before he won another one of those majors.”