Charlotte, N.C. – Rory McIlroy could win the PGA Championship at the Quazlo Hollow Club this week, having already won four times in his career, potentially winning several more major championships before the end of his career.
But McIlroy knows it doesn’t match his playoff victory at the Masters last month.
“Everyone had to have goals and dreams, and I was able to do what I had dreamed of for a long time,” McIlroy said at a press conference at Cool Hollow on Wednesday. “I’m still going to set my own goals. I’m still trying to achieve certain things. But I’m sitting here knowing it’s very likely to be the highlight of my career.
“It’s really cool. I still want to create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I don’t know if there will be any other victory that happened a few weeks ago.”
McIlroy saw the highlights of his final round at the Masters, but only seen it a few times, so he remembers “what I was feeling and what I saw through my own eyes” rather than what I saw on TV.
He made a 4-foot putt for birdies on the 18th hole to beat Justin Rose, and after finishing at 11 under, McIlroy threw a putter into the air and got his head in hand. He kneeled and cried.
“But whenever I have it (I saw the highlights), I’m fine,” McIlroy said. “I still feel like I want to cry. Yeah, it was involuntary (reaction). I’ve never felt such a release before, and I might never feel such a release again. It was once in a lifetime and it was a very cool moment.”
McIlroy, 36, plays the best golf of his career. In addition to collecting green jackets at the Masters, he won PGA Tour signature events at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship.
Due to his success at Quail Hollow, McIlroy is one of his favourites to win the Wanamaker trophy and third in his career. He will be the top contender at the championship held next month at the Oakmont Country Club, a suburb of Pittsburgh, at the championship held at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, a native of Northern Ireland, in July.
“I accomplished everything I wanted,” McIlroy said. “I did everything I wanted to do in the game. As a kid, I dreamed of becoming the best player in the world and getting all the majors. I did that.
McIlroy admits he thinks what it takes to become the best European or international golfer in history, but he does not identify what he wants to achieve for the rest of his career. He said that Grand Slams have sometimes overwhelmed him for over a decade with the weight to complete his career.
“I think we’ve seen everyone get through the line by having a North Star,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I’ve put a strain on myself with the career grand slam stuff. I want to enjoy this, I want to enjoy what I’ve achieved, I want to enjoy the past decade and my career.
Chasing Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 major championship victory or Tiger Woods’ 15 seems unrealistic at this stage of McIlroy’s career. His next match the six winners, Americans Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson and England’s Nick Faldo. Arnold Palmer, Sam Snead and Bobby Jones are among the five golfers who captured seven.
“If I can try to make the most of myself every week, I know what my abilities are and I know what golf I can play,” McIlroy said. “And I know I have a chance, especially if I keep disappearing and try to do it every week, especially with four big big things a year.”