Charlotte (AFP) – It’s only a 2.5-hour drive from Augusta to Charlotte, but Rory McIlroy endured a whirlwind journey from his knees at the Masters to the tees at the PGA Championship. McIlroy completed a career Grand Slam by winning at Augusta National last month, sinking to the finely manicured turf of the 18th green in relief after becoming the sixth man to accomplish the feat while snapping an 11-year major win drought.
“I always had hope. I always felt like I had the game,” McIlroy said. “Defeating my own mind was sort of the big thing for me and getting over that hurdle.” The Northern Ireland star’s emotional moment of victory launched a month of adventure that he hopes will produce a major victory in this week’s 107th PGA Championship.
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“I’m just glad that it’s done,” McIlroy said. “I don’t want to ever have to go back to that Sunday afternoon again. I’m glad I finished the way I did and we can all move on with our lives.” For second-ranked McIlroy, that means competing for a sixth major triumph by winning at Quail Hollow, where he has captured four PGA events. Showers drenched the layout on Monday, playing into McIlroy’s penchant for success on wet courses, including his first major win at the 2011 US Open.
McIlroy said he chases a feeling on the course beyond shot-making. Asked to describe it, he said, “It’s like a combination of trust, commitment, acceptance and joy all sort of mangled together.” Since finding that feeling and winning the long-sought green jacket after 10 failed bids to complete a Slam, McIlroy traveled to London with his family and then to Northern Ireland to see his parents, family, and friends.
“It was amazing going home. I didn’t want any fanfare. I tried to keep it as private as possible. I just wanted to see my parents and the people that were closest to me,” said McIlroy. “I never get that emotional with my dad. It was great to see him. Then when I saw my mom, we were both a mess for a few minutes. As an only child, I have a bond. I’m lucky…I realize they’re not going to be around forever. It means even more that they were still around to be able to see me complete the slam and fulfill those dreams.”
McIlroy joined Irishman Shane Lowry at a PGA pairs event in New Orleans, but they couldn’t defend their title. Then came a week off for practice and business in New York, hyping his new TGL tech-golf league. “When I got back home and sort of got back more into my real routine, it feels more that period is sort of behind me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to the next few months.”
It’s no wonder. McIlroy will also play the US Open, where he was runner-up in 2023 and 2024, and the British Open, which will be staged at a familiar Northern Ireland layout in Portrush.
– Carrying on confidence –
While he needs to return to some level of normalcy, the joy of the career Slam will remain with him and his supporters. “It’s not every day you get to fulfill one of your lifelong goals and dreams, and I’ve just really tried to enjoy everything that comes along with that,” McIlroy said. “People can see themselves in the struggle at times, and everything that you sort of try to put into getting the best out of yourself in that journey…it resonated with a lot of people.”
“I honestly could not be in a better place in my life professionally, personally, all of it.” For all his prior major wins — the 2011 US Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships, and 2014 British Open — the Masters has given McIlroy another touchstone to recall when golf times get tough. “I do think that the whole day on Sunday at Augusta, I don’t think I’ll have to ever play a harder round of golf in my life,” he said. “I think to be able to get through that and produce the shots when I needed to, that obviously gives me confidence, and I can always draw back on that experience.”
© 2024 AFP
