Two former PGA Tour players predict Rory McIlroy will struggle in 2026, ‘I don’t think he wants it’

Add as preferred source on Google

There may be trouble ahead for Rory McIlroy, in spite of a stellar 2025 season on the PGA Tour and, indeed, worldwide.

2025 could not have gone much better for McIlroy, with an impressive three PGA Tour wins and a DP World Tour victory to his name.

The 36-year-old Northern Irishman was also part of a victorious away Ryder Cup team.

However, McIlroy’s crowning glory was winning The Masters back in April, and completing the career Grand Slam as a result of his Augusta National triumph.

The 29-time PGA Tour winner achieved golfing nirvana with his win at Augusta, but there was a big problem.

McIlroy said he struggled with motivation after the Masters, and that was clearly visible in his performances.

It’s fair to say that McIlroy needs to significantly improve if he is to catch Scottie Scheffler in the world rankings in 2026.

But does he actually have the motivation? Does he have new goals and ambitions and more importantly, does he actually have the desire to go out there and win regularly again?

Rory McIlroy predicted to struggle in 2026, ‘I don’t think he wants it’

McIlroy has achieved everything he ever dreamt of achieving as a young man.

So what next for him? Will he go out and try to win the Grand Slam for a second time? Or will his career stall now?

Johnson Wager made a prediction about McIlroy ahead of the 2026 season, when speaking on The 5 Clubs Podcast.

He said: “The way he played at the beginning of this year, 2025, going out and winning Pebble. The way he won, with the softer golf ball and the different wedges. The Players Championship… I think all that preparation he did in the off-season was for one goal and that was to win Augusta.

“After that I thought he was going to play footloose and fancy free, he’s going to go and win seven majors… I don’t see it. I don’t know if he’s got it. Like, the amount of work he put in to win that Masters, I don’t know if anybody can have the desire to climb that mountain again.“

Brendon de Jonge then chimed in with his opinion on how McIlroy will fare next season.

He said: “I’m 100% with you. I think he’s going to play a condensed schedule and I just don’t see a dominant year from Rory because I don’t think he wants it.“

What Rory McIlroy must do to become one of the greatest of all time

McIlroy may have achieved his own personal goals, but he still has work to do if he is to be mentioned alongside the true greats of the game when it comes to overall major wins and PGA Tour victories.

The 2025 Masters champion has 29 PGA Tour wins to his, and is currently sitting in a tie for 18th on the all-time list.

He needs another 10 PGA Tour wins to crack the top-10, and that should surely be enough to motivate him!

Meanwhile, the major championships are where you really create a legacy and McIlroy will be well aware of that.

He has five to his name but needs another two to draw alongside Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead, Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones – quite the list of names!

If McIlroy really wants to go down in history as a true great of the game, he most likely needs to secure another 10 wins including a couple of major championships at the very least.

That may sound harsh but we’re talking about how we define greatness here. Being labeled as one of the greatest of all time should not be a title that is thrown around haphazardly.