Rory McIlroy’s former manager’s prediction about him in 2023 has been proven completely wrong

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Rory McIlroy has now accomplished everything he set out to achieve in golf.

In 2025, McIlroy completed the career grand slam by winning The Masters, and won an away Ryder Cup for the first time since 2012.

McIlroy was the “what if?” of golf entering the 2025 season. He ended the year as a certified icon of the game. His stature in the sport completely shifted once the Green Jacket was placed on his shoulders by Scottie Scheffler. 

That’s why it’s so easy to forget where McIlroy was just two years ago. He went nearly a decade without a major championship win, and didn’t come particularly close in 2023. He even missed the cut at the Masters in a disappointing display. 

That caused his former manager to make a bold prediction about the Northern Irishman, which was proven to be completely wrong.

Rory McIlroy’s former manager predicted he would never win the Masters

McIlroy entered the 2023 Masters playing his best golf. He had won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and finished T2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two months prior to the tournament. But with expectation heaped on his shoulders, McIlroy shot five over and missed the cut. 

Andrew Chandler, who represented McIlroy from 2007 through 2011, predicted that he would never get over the hump and win the career grand slam.

He said to iNews in 2023, “If you were a betting man, you would probably bet against him winning [the Masters]. He has made winning the grand slam a bigger thing in his head than it actually is.

“He is not really driven by number of wins or number of majors per se, but he seems to be driven by wanting to win the grand slam. It’s a massive mental block, and it’s getting harder and harder.

“Every time he gets there, he has the pressure from everyone else, but also from himself.”

As it transpired, the mental block didn’t extend only to the Masters. McIlroy should have won the US Open at Pinehurst No. 2 the following year, but missed a series of short putts down the stretch to hand the trophy to Bryson DeChambeau. 

But his Masters win in 2025 washed all of the bad memories away. If Chandler ever made that bet, he lost it.

Rory McIlroy’s ‘mental block’ lifted after 2025

Many expected McIlroy to play pressure-free after winning the Masters. In fact, the opposite was true. McIlroy was frosty with the media and in poor form for weeks after his Augusta win. 

It seemed that McIlroy struggled to process that everything he was working towards was finally accomplished. Motivation evaded him until he returned home for The Open Championship in his home country. 

Soaking in the ovation at Royal Portrush put the spring back in McIlroy’s step. He didn’t challenge for the win, but a second place at the Scottish Open and a solid showing at The Open meant McIlroy had refound form going into the Ryder Cup.

McIlroy has had time to process his win at the Masters. He looks to be at peace with himself, which can only have been helped by his incredible performance on Europe’s way to a Ryder Cup win in New York.

While we jumped the gun on the weight being lifted from his shoulders, going into 2026, we are likely to see a different McIlroy at Augusta National as the reigning champion next season.