CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rory McIlroy has done everything he dreamed of doing when he first fell in love with golf. He reached No. 1 in the world, and when he finally captured the Masters last month, he had his place in history with the career Grand Slam.
Setting his next target might be the toughest challenge for the 36-year-old from Northern Ireland.
“I’m still going to set myself goals. I’m still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that very well could be the highlight of my career,” McIlroy said of slipping on the green jacket at Augusta National last month after beating Justin Rose on the first hole of a playoff. “That’s a very cool thing. I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I’m not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.”
Only one other golfer played the Masters more times before winning, with Spain’s Sergio Garcia winning the 2017 tournament at age 37 for what remains his lone major championship. No other player went 11 years before getting the final leg of the Grand Slam. The emotion pouring out of McIlroy late that Sunday evening at Augusta captured the essence of dreams coming true.
He doesn’t spend a lot of time watching video of that highlight because he wants to remember the feeling instead of getting caught up in the visuals of it.
So what’s next?
Johnny Miller was once among the brightest comets in golf when he shot a 63 in the final round to win the 1973 U.S. Open, when he shot 66 on the final day to overtake a 19-year-old Spaniard named Seve Ballesteros and win the 1976 British Open, and when he won just about every tournament in the desert.
The next Jack Nicklaus? It never worked out that way as priorities at home changed.
“When I got to the mountaintop, I kind of looked at the scenery and wondered, ‘Now what?'” Miller once said. “When Jack got there, he said, ‘Where’s the next mountain?'”
Perhaps one Mount Everest might be the calendar-year Grand Slam, a feat never accomplished (Tiger Woods once won four consecutive majors, but over two years, 2000-01).
The PGA Championship starts Thursday at Quail Hollow Club, where McIlroy won last year on the PGA Tour for the fourth time.
“I would argue he’s the best driver of the ball I’ve ever seen, and that is extremely important here,” said Justin Thomas, who won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in 2017.
The U.S. Open is next month at Oakmont Country Club in the Pittsburgh suburbs, and the British Open returns in July to Royal Portrush, home soil for McIlroy, where he has a score to settle from missing the cut there in 2019.
That’s still a long way off, and while McIlroy is still flying high over that high-wire act to win the Masters, he is going step by step.
It’s only May. There are three more majors still on the schedule, along with more tournament titles to seek on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
There is a strong belief that McIlroy will feel more freedom than ever with his swing and his outlook after finally accomplished what he always wanted.
“That was really good for golf, good for Rory’s psyche,” Xander Schauffele — who comes to Quail Hollow as the reigning champion — said the week after the Masters. “Maybe worse for us now that he feels free.”
The notion of playing with house money has come up on occasion.
“I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game,” McIlroy said. “I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.”
The vague goal is to be his best every time he plays, wherever he plays.
McIlroy now has five major titles, one behind Nick Faldo, two behind Harry Vardon.
There is still plenty to chase, but he didn’t sound to be in the mood to chase. McIlroy did that for 11 years, ever since he got the third leg of the career Grand Slam. It took a toll on him.
“I know what my abilities are; I know the golf that I can play. And if I keep turning up and just trying to do that each and every week, especially in these four big ones a year, I know that I’ll have my chances,” said McIlroy, who has said more than once that he has no intentions to compete on the senior circuit to extend his playing career.
“I’ve talked about trying to become the best European ever or the best international player ever or whatever that is. I want to enjoy what I’ve achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don’t want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can.”