Rory McIlroy is still chasing that elusive fifth major as he prepares to take on The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
He goes into the fourth and final major of the season in form, having just finished tied-fourth at the Scottish Open.
That performance at The Renaissance Club will have done his confidence the world of good ahead of The Open Championship.
The tournament marked his first event back since the US Open last month, where McIlroy stumbled at the very last.
His errors in the final stretch allowed Bryson DeChambeau to clinch the title, with Colin Montgomerie understanding of McIlroy’s decision to leave the US Open early after that painful near-miss.
Rory McIlroy says how he’s playing right now heading into The Open
There have simply been far too many near misses at majors for the Northern Irishman’s liking over the years.
The four-time major winner now has the chance to prove his doubters wrong, particularly after his horror show at the US Open.
Discussing whether it requires a special mindset to bounce back from such moments, McIlroy told Sky Sports: “I think so.
“I’ve had to bounce back from from adversity over the course of my career, whether it was trying to win the Masters that first time in 2011, or whether it be LACC or obviously Pinehurst, St Andrews. There’s been other times where I’ve probably lost tournaments that I should have won.
“But I think golf, more than any other sport, you’re going to lose a lot more than you win. You win three or four times a year if you play 20 or 25 times… you’re looking at one of the best careers ever.
“So you have to get comfortable with the fact that you’re not going to win all the time, and you just have to learn from every experience you have in a golf tournament, whether you win, whether you don’t win, whether you should win.
“And that’s what I’ve tried to do from Pinehurst. I knew it was a great opportunity. I’m not disguising that fact, I know I should have won that golf tournament, but I also know that I’m going to have plenty more opportunities coming up, and especially with the way my game is and I’m feeling about my game.
“If I go out there this week and play a similar way to I did a Pinehurst and get myself in a similar position, I know that I’ll handle that scenario better this time around.”
Rory McIlroy wants to appreciate his success ahead of The Open
The Northern Irishman knows what it takes to win majors, including The Open, having won the tournament in 2014.
The 35-year-old has 26 career wins to his name, with McIlroy currently trying to appreciate all that he has done in his career.
But his focus will undoubtedly switch to game-mode once The Open gets underway at Troon on Thursday.
It’s been a decade since he last tasted major success, with things only going to get more difficult as each year passes.
Fans will be desperate to see McIlroy lift the famous Claret Jug once more, with the trophy back at the event having been returned by defending champion Brian Harman.
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