Rory McIlroy proved those of us who felt that he may need to win major number five elsewhere if he was ever going to win The Masters completely wrong on Sunday, with the wait for the career grand slam lasting 11 years.
Driving down Magnolia Lane must have felt like Groundhog Day for Rory McIlroy. Ever since the collapse of 2011, everyone has been wondering when he would banish those painful memories. And ever since 2014, he has faced the same questions about completing the career grand slam at Augusta National.
Throw in the fact that McIlroy had gone more than a decade without adding to his tally of majors, and it seemed almost impossible for one man to carry the burden which he took into The Masters.
With that, it is hardly surprising that many are now wondering how many majors McIlroy is going to end up with after his victory on Sunday.
Dame Laura Davies names the next major she expects Rory McIlroy to win
A free Rory McIlroy is particularly dangerous. And speaking on the Sky Sports Golf Podcast, Dame Laura Davies suggested that she is absolutely convinced that major number six will come next month at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
“He will win, I have absolutely no question about it. He’s going to be the most lighthearted, he’s going to relish every press conference that he does. He loves the golf course. There’s no fears now, because he doesn’t have to think about, ‘I’m never going to get the green jacket’, because he’s got it. Everything else from this point is easy, trust me,” she said.
The only major which could put Rory McIlroy under the same pressure he dealt with at The Masters
If McIlroy does manage to win the PGA Championship, then it is not hard to see what the debate will be.
No-one in the history of the game has won the four current majors in the same calendar year. Obviously, Tiger Woods came closest, when he held all four at the same time, thanks to winning the 2001 Masters.
And Davies suggested that it could only be by winning the first three majors of the year that McIlroy is ever likely to feel the same pressure he had on Sunday at Augusta again.
“If he gets the first three, he’s obviously got the first two, we know that’s in the book, but if he gets the first three, I said he’ll never play under that pressure again that he did yesterday, but if he actually did that – which I don’t know whether he’s going to have that chance – but then the pressure’s on to the level it was this week, to do the grand slam,” she said.
“We’re talking about a grand slam in a year. And I don’t think it’s going to happen, I want to get that on record. The next one’s definite, I’m not even going to argue about that. But I just think if it did happen, then the pressure’s at that same level as we had yesterday if he’s got a chance on Sunday to win The Open and the grand slam in a calendar year.”
McIlroy must feel like he is now making up for lost time. For all of his quality, it is remarkable how rarely he was in contention in the majors between 2015 and 2021.
The fact that something that Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods never achieved seems to be ever so slightly on the table for McIlroy says so much.
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