Three weeks ago, he was fresh off of a second Players Championship victory for his 28th PGA Tour win. Now, Rory McIlroy has set himself up for his strongest chance not only at Augusta in the Masters but also his best shot in years to add another major.
Before playing at the Texas Children’s Houston Open last week where he rallied late Friday to make the cut and finish T5, McIlroy made an early visit to Augusta ahead of the Masters to familiarize himself once again with the course, where he noted a few missing trees from Hurricane Helene and that four greens had been rebuilt.
McIlroy said after his final-round 64 that he wanted to focus on driving the ball a little better and that he planned to get treatment on a bothersome right elbow. He seemed unfazed by disclosing this discomfort for the first time this season, but the announcement did send a few shockwaves through golf.
Two wins in five starts before April is the most success the 35-year-old has had heading into the majors in his professional career. McIlroy won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in his first start of the season, in just his third appearance at the famous event. A win to begin 2025 shouldn’t have been surprising because he finished 2024 on a high note with a win at the DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy’s winning performances early this year resonate with some of his best early seasons. His most decorated years on Tour were 2011, 2012 and 2014 when he rose to the top of the world while winning four majors. More recently his consistency has resulted in multiple-win seasons for the past six years between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, notably in 2019 and 2022 when he won at least three times.
This year, he has finished inside of the top 20 in each of his five starts, most recently that T5 in Houston. He’s doing everything possible to put himself in the best position to be triumphant during the majors. Perhaps McIlroy’s best stuff this season is yet to come.
The most impressive part of McIlroy’s game this year is his putting, where he’s 12th in strokes gained after ranking 59th last year and 65th in 2023. He also leads the Tour in strokes-gained total and scoring average, and is inside the top five in driving distance, scrambling and putting from 15-20 feet:
While the career grand slam will certainly be on McIlroy’s mind, the expectation to be a major champion again this season is equally important. McIlroy’s last major came in 2014 when he won the PGA Championship and British Open and was PGA Tour Player of the Year.
McIlroy's drought the past decade has been filled with many strong performances and lessons learned, but he was still one of the PGA Tour's most dominant players. He is the only player to consistently be ranked in the top five in the world ranking over the past 10 years. He’s managed to stay mostly healthy and also just surpassed $100 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour, second behind Tiger Woods.
Since 2014, McIlroy has 21 top-10 finishes in the majors with 11 top-five finishes that include two in the U.S. Open, four at the Masters and five at the Open; the most by any player in golf during this time. McIlroy finished second in consecutive years in 2023 and 2024 at the U.S. Open, coming up short by one shot each time.
No one has completed a career slam since Tiger Woods in 2000. This could be the year for McIlroy to get over the major hurdle, with courses favorable to his game.
The key for McIlroy to stay in contention all weekend at the Masters is his first two rounds. His overall scoring average is under par at 71.60, however, he’s only opened in the 60s twice in 16 appearances. The second round has been his worst, recording eight over-par scores including four straight dating to 2020, the last time he had a first or second round in the 60s. McIlroy has been at his best during the third round, where he has been under par in six of his last eight. In the fourth round he struggled early in his career, most notably with his shocking 80 in 2011, but in the last decade he’s had five rounds in the 60s to finish, including his Sunday-best final-round 64 in 2022.
If McIlroy falls short at Augusta, he could bounce back at a PGA Championship that will be held at Quail Hollow. McIlroy has a strong connection with the club, winning the Wells Fargo Championship there a record four times and most recently in 2024. Fans throughout the years have embraced him as a hometown favorite in the city of Charlotte, given that he won his first PGA Tour event there in 2010. So what works for him so well on this course? In his winning press conference in 2024, McIlroy mentioned his appreciation for being able to always hit driver. For a player that has consistently ranked in the top four in driving distance on Tour, Quail Hollow can have the secret sauce for another major. Here's a look at his Wells Fargo triumphs:
The U.S. Open at Oakmont in June will come with a chip on McIlroy’s shoulder, after finishing second by one the last two years.
Finally, the Open in July will be played at Royal Portrush, in Rory McIlroy’s home country of Northern Ireland. McIlroy historically has performed well at the Open with four consecutive top-five finishes dating to 2014. The pressure will be on as fans will be cheering for a historic hometown favorite to win. He has a legendary connection to the course, having watched his father Gerry play there as a child and shooting a course-record 61 as a 16-year-old in 2005 in the North of Ireland Championship. However, at the 2019 Open, McIlroy was overwhelmed and shot a 79 in the first round which led to missing the cut.
One thing is for sure: all eyes will be on him.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as As Major Season Approaches, All Eyes Are on Rory McIlroy.
