Thrilling Masters Victory Sets Up Rory McIlroy To Have a Major Season

If Rory McIlroy isn’t statistically the number one ranked player in the world, he is in most people’s minds when talking about the present and immediate future.The 35-year-old’s dramatic playoff victory over Justin Rose at Augusta National on Sunday not only earned Mr. McIlroy his first Green Jacket and a historic Career Grand Slam, but it was also his third victory of the young season, adding to his win at AT&T Pebble Beach and the coveted Players Championship.With three more majors remaining in 2025, including The Open Championship on his native soil at Royal Portrush, Mr. McIlroy is set up to have a year just as memorable or better than the nine-win season Mr. Scheffler posted last year.“It’s the best day of my golf life,” Mr. McIlroy said after a roller-coaster round of 1-over-par 73 and a birdie on the lone playoff hole won the Masters. “I’m very proud of myself. I’m proud of never giving up. I’m proud of how I kept coming back and dusting myself off and not letting the disappointments really get to me. Talking about that eternal optimist again. Yeah, very proud.”This Masters victory was more about relief than revelry. The lack of a Masters victory on his resume and no major wins since 2014 became an albatross around Mr. McIlroy’s neck. His annual appearance in the Masters always included questions about his growing frustrations, whether real or imagined. “What are we all going to talk about next year?” Mr. McIlroy joked in the media center while wearing his freshly earned Green Jacket.Freed from the mental warfare failure brings, Mr. McIlroy might be ready to display the best of his talent. His victory at the recent Players Championship and the Masters proves he can defeat the game’s best, even the LIV challengers, who had notable finishes by Patrick Reed (T3) and Bryson DeChambeau (T5), but otherwise are forgotten until the next major.The schedule and venues set up well for Mr. McIlroy. The PGA Championship is on May 12-18 at Quail Hollow at Charlotte, an annual stop for the Wells Fargo Championship since 2003. The course also hosted the 2017 PGA Championship. Mr. McIlroy has won the Wells Fargo four times, and owns the course record, a 61 shot in 2015.The U.S. Open is June 9-15 at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh. Mr. McIlroy missed the cut when the national championship was last played there in 2016.The Open Championship is scheduled for Royal Portrush on July 13-20 in McIlroy’s native Northern Ireland. Xander Schauffele is the defending champion, but Mr. McIlroy will be the sentimental favorite, cheered on by his fellow countrymen. Whether he’s chasing his second or third major of the year or a Grand Slam season remains to be seen.As magical a season as Mr. Scheffler enjoyed last year, he won just one major, the Masters. Mr. Schauffele captured the PGA and Open Championships. Mr. DeChambeau, who faded under the pressure of playing in the final group on Sunday, will defend his U.S. Open title at Oakmont.Mr. McIlroy admitted the nerves almost got the best of him on Sunday when he made a horrible double-bogey on par-5 13th and blew a chance to win in regulation by missing a 4-foot putt to win on the 72nd hole.This was his 17th Masters, where the expectations have grown since his first back-nine collapse in 2011.“There were points in my career where I didn’t know if I would have this nice garment over my shoulders,” Mr. McIlroy said of his Green Jacket. “I certainly didn’t make it easy. I was nervous. It was one of the toughest days I’ve ever had on the golf course.”Mr. McIlroy, who becomes one of six male golfers to win the modern career grand slam, can start planning his Champion’s Dinner menu and take his place in the Champions Locker Room. He’ll play in the Masters until he calls it a career like Bernhard Langer did this year after the two-time Masters winner announced he had played his last Masters at age 67.“It was a heavy weight to carry,” Mr. McIlroy said of his past Masters failures. “Thankfully, I don’t have to carry it and it frees me up and I know I’m coming back here every year, which is lovely.”Mr. Scheffler remains the world’s no.1-ranked player, but is still searching for his first win of the year after finishing fourth at Augusta. Mr. McIlroy is no. 2 in the world and closing. Mr. Schauffele is no. 3. Golf is building its own Big 3.“You have to be the eternal optimist in this game,” Mr. McIlroy said. “I’ve been saying it until I’m blue in the face. I truly believe I’m a better player now than I was ten years ago.”With his burden lifted, the best of Mr. McIlroy is yet to come.

Thrilling Masters Victory Sets Up Rory McIlroy To Have a Major Season

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