Rory McIlroy made history at The Masters by winning his first Green Jacket and completing the Career Grand Slam at the 11th time of asking.
In what I would describe as the greatest Major of all time, the Northern Irishman bounced back from numerous setbacks to prevail on the biggest stage - demonstrating a resilience and maturity that has perhaps been missing from his game in the past.
After an incredible three-win start to 2025, McIlroy fans can certainly be excited about his prospects heading into the remaining Majors and the Ryder Cup later in the year.
While it's important to allow time for the former World No.1 to enjoy his historic achievement, it will certainly raise a couple of pertinent questions... How many Majors will Rory McIlroy win in his career and which will he win next?
I decided to put this question to my esteemed colleagues at Golf Monthly, but feel free to have your say in the comments below... I'd love to hear your thoughts on Rory's future achievements.
How Many Majors Will Rory McIlroy Win In His Career?
The sky really is the limit now for Rory McIlroy.
I'll be honest and say I didn't think he'd ever be able to win the Career Grand Slam – I felt there was simply too much pressure and too much scar tissue. Also, he's not a young man anymore – in golfing terms anyway.
If he failed again on Sunday at Augusta National, it could have been absolutely catastrophic, but fortunately he was able to dig deeper than ever before and produce a miraculous performance in the play-off.
That fact will stand him in incredible stead going forward – he had lost all the momentum and was playing a man with nothing to lose, but he was still able to summon the most timely of birdies.
He went out and hit three perfect golf shots knowing full well that failing to do so would have severe and long-lasting ramifications. It's hard to fathom that mental strength.
Laura Davies made a great point in commentary afterwards when she said he'll never feel pressure like that again. If he never wins another golf tournament, it's still a historic career.
That freedom is incredibly powerful and I'd expect it to translate to more Majors over the coming years. I think 10 is now a realistic target again, although by no means guaranteed.
Following his Masters victory, you could argue that 2025 is set up perfectly for McIlroy.
The PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow, a course he has won at multiple times, while the US Open at Oakmont requires a good tee ball, something the five-time Major winner is known for.
The Open being at Portrush is also a big factor and, for this season, I believe McIlroy wins one of the remaining three Majors.
In terms of career Majors, I think he will get to eight, which would put him as the most successful men's European player in history.
At 35 years of age, he still has time on his side and, with the Northern Irishman playing some of the best golf of his life right now, three more Major victories is a realistic target.
As I'm sure most people will now agree, I expect McIlroy to go on and win multiple Majors in the coming years.
Any Major would have been incredible to end the spell, but victory at The Masters almost killed two birds with one stone, so to speak.
With the freedom of having the full set and increasing his Major tally by 20%, I think McIlroy might well win another in 2025 before adding a couple more prior to retirement.
I wouldn't like to say when exactly they might arrive, but it seemed like - for the past 10 years or so - he was so often held back by the mental side of the battle to add number five.
That's now been greatly reduced, so if McIlroy can sharpen up his putting skills - a la Scheffler in 2024 - then it really is a matter of when, not if, McIlroy wins another Major.
Rory McIlroy is officially dangerous again.
With only a few hours gone by since he holed the winning putt it can be easy to slip into hyperbole but I think Rory could win another Major this year, at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship, or maybe even The Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The former because he loves that golf course and has won several times on it, and the latter because he made all the mistakes he could back in 2019 missing the cut.
In terms of total number of Majors, I think 8 is the number I am comfortable with. He no longer has that Major monkey on his back and is so freed up now, I wouldn’t even be surprised if he wins another Green Jacket.
So, what do I think? I feel my colleagues have hit the nail on the head with their summation of Rory's future prospects, and I have a weirdly confident feeling he could add another Major (or two) this season.
In his career I am predicting another four Majors for McIlroy, taking him to nine, including at least one more Green Jacket.
Just imagine if the final leg of his Career Grand Slam also turned out to be the first like of a Grand Slam - becoming the first man to do so in the modern era and the only the second in history behind the greatest amateur of all time, Bobby Jones.
Too much? I think not.
