Rory McIlroy reflected on his second career Masters victory before arriving at the Truist Championship and came away with one lasting emotion.
"I feel like if anything I'm more motivated after what happened at Augusta this year than I've ever been," McIlroy said on Wednesday at Quail Hollow, site of this week's PGA event and his first career victory on Tour in 2010.
Upon completing the career Grand Slam last year, McIlroy became the sixth player to accomplish the feat and first since Tiger Woods in 2000. He won his sixth career major last month, claiming another green jacket at Augusta.
But when McIlroy had a moment to fully crack open what the latest major victory meant to him, the 37-year-old Northern Irishman came to the realisation the new trophy only pushes him to chase the next one even harder.
"I felt like winning the Grand Slam was going to be this life-changing thing," he said. "And in some ways it was. But in other ways I had to remember like, 'No, I still have a lot of my career left and I want to keep playing and keep competing.' So this year I think winning was validation for all the work that I've put in over the last few years to get myself back to this place where I'm winning majors. I'm excited for the road ahead."
Before he shifts the target to the PGA Championship next week, McIlroy arrived in North Carolina as the top-ranked player in the field. No 2 McIlroy won't have to contend with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler this week.
He's feeling refreshed after a short stint away from the course. McIlroy said he went to New York with his wife, Erica, and attended the State Dinner at the White House.
"I gave myself a good 10 days to enjoy myself and then thought I needed to get back on the range and start to practice and get ready for this stretch coming up," he said.
The Truist Championship is a PGA Tour Signature Event and has a $20 million purse. McIlroy won the event in 2024 and four of his 30 victories are at Quail Hollow (2010, 2015, 2021).