It’s official. Rory McIlroy will enter the 2024 golf season the same way he ended the 2014 golf season: holding four major titles.
The Northern Irishman, now 34, finished T5 at The 151st Open Championship and failed to win that elusive fifth major.
“Every time I tee it up or most times I tee it up, I’m right there. I can’t sit here and be too frustrated,” said McIlroy, who was once considered a threat to surpass Jack Nicklaus’ 18 major wins.
“My game is in a — you think about my performances in the majors between like 2016 and 2019, it’s a lot better than that.
“Again, I’m optimistic about the future, and just got to keep plugging away.”
When a reporter noted that McIlroy will be going into his “tenth year now without a major,” the controversial golfer claimed he doesn’t dwell on his lack of major success and is focused on Memphis and the opening leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
“I don’t think that way,” said McIlroy. “I think about trying to go and win a fourth FedExCup here in a couple weeks’ time, go try and win a fifth Race to Dubai, go and win a fifth Ryder Cup.
“I just keep looking forward.”
Though, that’s not how he sounded less than a year after winning his fourth major at just 25 in 2015. Back then, McIlroy claimed “a good or great season” required a major victory.
“I would be disappointed if I wasn’t to win one of the next three majors,” said McIlroy, ahead of the BMW PGA Championship in May 2015. “I think that’s really what determines a good or a great season for me these days. So there’s three majors left this season, and I’d love to add to my tally.”
In his first 24 major appearances, McIlroy won four in a 15-start span, but has come up empty in each of his last 34. To McIlroy’s credit, his performances in majors over the past two years is impressive: 2nd, 8th, T5, 3rd, MC, T7, 2nd, T6. In fact, his two best opportunities to bust the drought came in two of his last five tries: The 150th Championship and the 2023 U.S. Open.
After winning his third major at the British Open in 2014, McIlroy was asked about catching Nicklaus‘ 18.
“I know how many majors the greats of the game have won, but I never wanted to compare myself,” said McIlroy, during a press conference at Royal Liverpool. “At least at the end of my career there’s not going to be a disappointment — ‘Oh, I wanted to get to 15 but I only got 12.”
He added, with a tinge of smugness, “Bummer!”
With four majors at 25, including the two most recent, no one batted an eye when McIlroy lowballed 12 as his career majors target.
Eight years later, he’d be laughed off the stage for thinking he can win 12 career majors.
Ironically, following his fourth major at the PGA, and ahead of the 2014 FedEx Cup playoffs, McIlroy was asked about his position in the game versus Phil Mickelson, then 44, and Tiger Woods, then 38 (only four years older than he is now).
“They are just getting older,” said McIlroy. “Phil is 43 or something and Woods is nearly 40. So they are just getting into sort of the last few holes of their careers and that’s what happens. It obviously just gets harder as you get older.
“I’ll be able to tell you in 20 years how it feels.”
We’re now at the halfway point to that “20 years,” and since then, Mickelson (2021 PGA) and Woods (2019 Masters) have each won another major, while McIlroy, who will turn 35 next May, has been shutout.
