It’s been nearly 10 full years since Rory McIlroy last won a major championship title.

“Obviously, getting my hands on a fifth major has taken quite a while,” admitted McIlroy, during Tuesday’s media interviews ahead of the 124th U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

It was the summer of 2014 when a fresh-faced McIlroy went wire-to-wire at Royal Liverpool to claim the Claret Jug and then a month later stood on a darkened 18th hole at Valhalla holding his second Wanamaker (and fourth major trophy).

At the time, McIlroy’s legacy seemed almost limitless.

With four majors in a four-season span, and only 25 at the time, the odds of a 35-year-old Rory holding the same four majors would be off the charts. In fact, most storylines entering 2015 centered around Rory chasing down Tiger Woods and even Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus said in an ESPN Radio interview during the Summer of Rory, that the Northern Irishman could win “15 or 20 majors or whatever he wants to do if he wants to keep playing.”

McIlroy, himself, added, “It’s inevitable that there’s going to be these comparisons. It’s hard to avoid.”

On Tuesday at Pinehurst, though, McIlroy reset the narrative and reminded everyone that most any tour pro (aside from Tiger Woods) would be “ecstatic” with a four-major career.

“I think the only thing about trying to pick a number is that you’re setting yourself up for failure or disappointment,” said McIlroy.

“There’s always going to be that tinge of what could have been. I don’t want to do that to myself. If someone would have told me at 20 years old I’d be sitting here at 35 and this is the career I’ve had, I would not have believed them and I would have been ecstatic.”

Is Rory really ecstatic, though, with four majors?

Well, we know he’s not happy that Brooks Koepka now has five majors to his four.

Following Koepka’s win at the 2023 PGA, McIlroy said in an episode of Full Swing: “F**k, someone in my era’s got more majors than I have.”

And… McIlroy seems to have set a new, more realistic goal: becoming the winningest European golfer in terms of majors, which would require more than the four he currently owns as Seve Ballesteros (5) and Nick Faldo (6) have won more.

“I mean, I’ve always said I still feel like being the most successful European in the game is within my reach,” said McIlroy. “I’ve got obviously Seve [Ballesteros] and Nick Faldo to pass there in terms of major wins.”

With a win this week at Pinehurst, McIlroy would tie both his generational rival (Koepka) and geographical peer (Seve) with five.

So, no. Rory McIlroy is not ecstatic that he holds four career majors at 35.