'I don't really care' - McIlroy not interested in his 'legacy'

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland speaks to the media during a press conference prior to The 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on July 14, 2026 in Southport, England. (Photo by Stuart Kerr/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy sounded like a man who’d had coaching from Scottie Scheffler when he insisted he’s not chasing golfing mortality but the buzz of the chase.

When he was chasing the career Grand Slam and seeking an end to his long major drought, he insisted that his goal was to walk away from the game “and be remembered for the majors and for the big moments.”

But now that he has two green jackets and six Majors in his locker, he admits that chasing records was his biggest mistake.

Speaking just minutes after Scheffler insisted he had no interest in his legacy because “at the end of the day, I'm going to live my life, and it's going to end,” McIlroy had an even more morbid take.

"No, I don't really care,” he said of his legacy. “I would like to think that the people that love and care about me think a certain way of me, but yeah, I'll be long gone. I'll be dead.

“I don't think I'll be seeing what people say about me. I'll be six feet under. I don't think I'll be a ghost. I don't think I'll be, you know, like — yeah, I don't care."

Like Scheffler, he believes that the thrill of the chase far exceeds the joy you get from counting trophies and that’s his motivation as he heads into the autumn of his career.

"I'm sure Scottie said something similar, but I think it would be a pretty unfulfilling pursuit if you're just chasing records and chasing results. You have to enjoy the process. You have to enjoy the journey to get there. I've learned that the hard way at times by chasing results and chasing records too much.

“You start to focus on your craft and your practice... and then if you do that, the results and the winning almost take care of themselves."

While winning at St Andrews remains the Holy Grail for the world number two, his overriding goal this week is to see if he can overcome the pressure again and win a seventh Major and become the most successful European of the modern era.

"Seeing how good I can be,” he said of his goal on the first tee on Thursday. “Seeing if the work I've put in and the practice that I've put in can stand up to the most intense pressure that we are under, which is Major championships."

He went viral on the internet at the Genesis Scottish Open last week when he hooked an approach shot into deep rough, and roared: “Oh my god, I am so bad at golf!”

He’s since spent hours on the range honing his game but did not sound 100pc satisfied that he’s ironed out the gremlins in time.

“Depends what hour of the day you get me, I think,” he said when asked if he was happy with his game.

“It's funny, I felt really good the first two days in Scotland and then felt like my game just sort of deteriorated as the week went on. Even though I shot a good score on Sunday, it didn't feel very good.

“So, yeah, I've done a good bit of work the past couple of days, again, getting the TrackMan out, seeing what my numbers are, and just trying to match up the feels of my swing with what I'm seeing.

“Also, like I played 30 holes on Sunday. I felt a little bit tired yesterday, so I didn't make it on the course, but that allowed me a bit more time to hit some balls and dig into the swing a little bit.

“Felt good on the range. Felt good out on the course today. Definitely trending in the right direction.”

With Royal Birkdale playing firm and fast this week, he sounded like a man determined to play front-foot golf and take on the bunkers, even if it means playing wedges out of burnt-put rough that’s no longer a massive threat due to the heat.

“I think it's a double-edged sword,” he said of the risk-reward challenge. “I think all this dry weather and sun and a little bit of wind is obviously great for the course in one way, but when I was here a couple weeks ago, the rough was a lot more penal than it's going to be this week. It's definitely burnt out a lot.

“The big thing, especially off the tee here, is the fairway bunkers and avoiding those. You might see some guys being more aggressive off the tee, taking driver, trying to take the fairway bunkers out of play.

“Okay, it might be in the rough, but it's not that penal, so you get a wedge in your hand and you can figure it out from there.

"When you give professional golfers options and you can create a little bit of doubt in their minds in terms of should I play this shot or that shot, that's when things start to get fun, especially for the viewer. Not so much for us but... That to me is the sign of a good championship test.”