He has achieved nearly everything he wanted at 36. Now what?
By MATT COOPER
Rory McIlroy was bewildered.
Happily bewildered, but bewildered nonetheless.
“Grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be,” he said in June at the RBC Canadian Open. A week later, ahead of the U.S. Open, he said: “You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next.” Asked if he’d come up with a plan for "Phase 2 Rory", he conceded: “I don’t have one. I have no idea.”
Two months had passed since he achieved a triple crown, of sorts – Masters victory, first major title since 2014, the completion of the career Grand Slam.
He had done the Great Big Thing. He’d slain the beast. It was over now; he could relax. And yet he knew he was entering uncharted territory.
Oscar Wilde said there are two great tragedies in life: not getting what you want and getting it. For Olympic medal winners, that means the “post-Olympic blues” – a fugue that leaves them aimless in the aftermath of a four-year cycle chasing a goal. Now what? McIlroy, in the green afterglow of Augusta, sounded like them.
Ah, but this is McIlroy we’re talking about. He’s used to introspection. And just a few weeks later at the Scottish Open, the Northern Irishman was clear he’d made progress.
“It’s amazing what two weeks of detachment can do for you, sitting there being with your own thoughts for a while,” he said. “I don’t want [the Masters victory] to be my last great moment in the game. There’s plenty more that I can do, so many opportunities that lie ahead, whether that’s Royal Portrush next week or the Open going back to St Andrews or a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Great venues that all the greats have won on. I’d love to add my name to those lists.”
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