McIlroy conscious he may never surpass Masters moment: “I still feel like I want to cry”
Rory McIlroy sits down for an interview during the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
Rory McIlroy admits achieving his lifetime dream at the Masters “very well could be the highlight of my career.”
But that doesn’t mean he’s got no more dreams to achieve, even if no other win will live up to the drama and emotion of ending an 11-year major drought and making his boyhood dream come true at Augusta.
The world number two arrives at the PGA Championship looking for his fifth win at a soggy Quail Hollow, his sixth major and what would be the second leg of the calendar Grand Slam.
He’s reluctant to burden himself by setting public goals after suffering for nearly 11 years trying to complete the career Grand Slam.
But he’s playing so well, he’s the hot favourite to win a third Wanamaker Trophy this week at a course that suits his big hitting game to a tee.
“Look, everyone needs to have goals and dreams, and I've been able to do something that I dreamed of for a long time,” McIlroy said of the Masters.
“I'm still going to set myself goals. I'm still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that that very well could be the highlight of my career.
“That's a very cool thing. I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I'm not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.”
Having reached the summit, McIlroy is careful now to keep himself mentally alert without putting more pressure on his shoulders.
“I think everyone saw how hard having a north star is and being able to get over the line,” he said of new goals.
He added: “I’ve always said I'm never going to put a number on it. I've talked about trying to become the best European ever or the best international player ever or whatever that is. But again, that's not -- the numbers tell one story, but it's not -- mightn't be the full story.
“I feel like I sort of burdened myself with the Career Grand Slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this.
“I want to enjoy what I've achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don't want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can.”
Xander Schauffele said recently that it’s “scary” to think what McIlroy might now achieve without the burden of chasing the Grand Slam.
But when asked to comment, McIlroy reverted to the conversations he’s been having with mental coach Dr Bob Rotella.
“You just keep playing until you run out of holes,” he said, "and hopefully by the time you run out of holes, whoever decided that 72 holes was the end of the golf tournament, hopefully your score is better than everyone else’s.”
It took 73 holes at the Masters and he admits he’s resisted the temptation to rewatch his emotional reaction on the 18th green.
“I've talked about this before, but I think when I rewatch a lot of things back, I then just remember of the visuals of the TV rather than what I was feeling and what I was seeing through my own eyes,” he said. “So I haven't tried to watch it back too much.
Rory McIlroy sits down for an interview during the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on Wednesday, May 14, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/PGA of America)
“But anytime I have, I well up. I still feel like I want to cry. I've never felt a release like that before, and I might never feel a release like that again.
"That could be a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and it was a very cool moment.”
He does not have to think to hard to bring back good memories of Quail Hollow, where he closed with a 62 to win his first PGA TOUR title in 2010 before adding further wins in the Wells Fargo Championship 2015, 2021 and last year.
“Yeah, always nice to come back to Quail Hollow, for obvious reasons,” he said. “I have obviously great memories from this place.
“First win on the PGA TOUR 15 years ago. Winning last year, I probably played my best golf of the year last year here, especially at the weekend.
“Look, it's been an amazing 2025. There's been a lot of great golf played, but there's still a lot of golf left to play this year. I'm excited for the journey ahead.
“Looking forward to this week. Hopefully the weather clears up a little bit and the course can dry out a bit.
“Excited to tee it up in another PGA Championship and give myself another opportunity.”
Having said recently he’s now playing with “house money” having won the Masters, he can tee it up with freedom.
“I've done everything I've wanted to do in the game,” he said of that feeling. “I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I've done that.
“Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.”
