CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | A year ago, one green jacket in, Rory McIlroy found himself adrift in the joy, the satisfaction and the what-comes-next feeling that followed his 2025 Masters victory that completed the career Grand Slam.
For McIlroy, it was an extended moment, one that required an essential reset after finally capturing something he had chased so long.
Now two green jackets in, having become only the fourth player to win consecutive Masters last month, McIlroy hits the restart button at the Truist Championship this week, his first tournament start since winning again at Augusta National.
It’s a comfortable landing spot, McIlroy having won four times at Quail Hollow Club, and the post-Masters feeling is different this time around.
McIlroy took six days to enjoy his sixth major title, visiting New York City with his wife, Erica, for a couple of days and attending a state dinner at the White House last week honoring Britain’s King Charles III but otherwise staying close to home before ramping up his work for a busy stretch.
“It feels a lot different. Even winning felt different. I’ve spoken about this a lot, I felt like winning the Grand Slam was going to be this life-changing thing and in some ways it was, but in other ways I had to remember like, no, I still have a lot of my career left and I want to keep playing and keep competing,” McIlroy said Wednesday morning after playing a nine-hole pro-am.
“So this year I think winning was validation for all the work that I’ve put in over the last few years to get myself back to this place where I’m winning majors. I’m excited for the road ahead. I’m excited for this week, I’m excited for Aronimink [PGA Championship] next week, Shinnecock [U.S. Open], Birkdale [Open Championship], I feel like if anything I’m more motivated after what happened at Augusta this year than I’ve ever been.”
McIlroy won his first Masters by surviving a tumultuous Sunday, winning a playoff against Justin Rose in one of the most emotional chapters in tournament history.
While he’s been away from tournament golf, McIlroy has drawn attention for his cameo in the movie “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” a short moment in a film focused on the fashion industry.
A month ago, McIlroy led by six after 36 holes but found himself on the practice tee early Saturday evening, chasing a feeling that had gone missing in the third round when he shot 73, leaving him tied with Cameron Young atop a suddenly crowded leaderboard entering the final round.
“The range session on Saturday night was a big turning point for me. To be able to go there with [caddie] Harry [Diamond], figure out a couple of things, and figure it out in a way that I didn’t have a Trackman, I didn’t have a video … I was like, no, I just want to hit a few, get a feel,” McIlroy said.
“I carried that feel into Sunday, and I honestly, reflecting on it, I made the double [bogey] on No. 4, but then from the fifth tee until I would say the second shot on 17 I didn’t miss a shot. I played, I swung it good, I hit the shots I wanted to hit. I was really proud of that because Saturday was a struggle. So to be able to bounce back and turn it around and then feel and play the way I did on Sunday was, I was really proud of that.”
When McIlroy won for the first time at Quail Hollow in 2010, shooting a Sunday 62 that ended with six consecutive 3s on his scorecard, it was his breakthrough moment on the PGA Tour, the first of his 30 victories.
He also won at Quail Hollow in 2015, 2021 and 2024 and has 10 career top-10 finishes at the club where he is now a member. For all he has done, McIlroy still thinks back to 2015 when he was 11-under par through 16 holes and the thought of shooting 59 flashed through his head.
“Then I stepped up on 17 and didn’t hit a very good shot,” McIlroy said. “I sort of always rue that. I just feel like it halted the momentum a little bit. But you don’t get many chances to do that, and I feel like I didn’t lean into it enough.”
While he’s been away from tournament golf, McIlroy has drawn attention for his cameo in the newly released movie “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” a short moment in a film focused on the fashion industry.
The opportunity came last year when director David Frankel, an avid golfer, offered McIlroy a spot in the film. He wasn’t initially interested until he mentioned it to wife Erica, who pushed him to do it. McIlroy agreed on the condition his wife could appear with him in the film, which she does.
He spent the Monday prior to the Tour Championship last August in New York shooting his scene, giving him a brief role in the blockbuster film, which he has not yet seen.
“It was pretty cool being there and around the cast,” said McIlroy, who did not wear the green jacket in the film.