Pressing Issues

Rory McIlroy’s Sunday at The Masters was exhausting for most golf fans, let alone golf’s latest grand slam winner.

But almost immediately after pouring “15 years of disappointment” out on the 18th green, he mentioned that “I feel like I’m playing with house money now. I hope this is the start of a really strong period in my career”.

Not only is this is a glimpse into the mindset it takes to be one of golf’s serial winners, but it poses a very valid question. Is this the start of McIlroy’s greatest year?

Next Up

When the PGA Championship rolls around next month, McIlroy will inevitably face questions about the potential ‘Tiger slam’ – the act of holding all four majors at the same time. Better yet, he could invent the ‘Rory-slam’ by winning them all in the same season.

The next major being at Quail Hollow – a place McIlroy has won four times in the past – will only add fuel to the fire.

But the questions and discussion around McIlroy seem far less likely to affect him negatively this time around. He is no longer the prodigy who hasn’t won a major in eleven years, but a great of the game with the world at his feet.

With that self-confidence and freedom, the door is certainly ajar for McIlroy to secure his sixth major a month after gaining his fifth.

It would then take a further two – at Oakmont Country Club for the US Open, and then Royal Portrush (in Northern Ireland) for the Open Championship.

Of course, it’s improbable, but McIlroy’s mix of relief and sustained hunger, in combination with his on-course distance and touch, no doubt make him a serious force to be reckoned with for the remainder of this season.