Latest news with #careerGrandSlam
CBC
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Why 2-time winner Rory McIlroy keeps coming back to the RBC Canadian Open
Social Sharing For years, the character tension surrounding Rory McIlroy emerged four times per season. As his major drought stretched on and on, and his quest for the career Grand Slam grew less and less likely with each Masters loss, McIlroy's mental battles always came into focus — whether it was a new approach, a gutting collapse or an untimely injury. Then, in April, he finally did it. McIlroy won the Masters, becoming just the sixth player ever to achieve the career Grand Slam. You could see what it meant throughout his roller-coaster final round, and especially as he collapsed on the 18th green after the winning putt dropped. In the minutes, hours and weeks that followed, it was pure jubilation. But when the second major of the season rolled around — the PGA Championship in May — McIlroy struggled, barely made the cut and refused to talk to media on any of the four days amid news that his driver had been deemed non-conforming. Soon after, he skipped The Memorial — a signature event hosted by Jack Nicklaus that he hadn't missed since 2017. And so when he stepped to the podium for his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, there were plenty of questions. Namely — why was he here? WATCH | Recapping McIlroy's Masters win with Myles Dichter of Basement Golf: Rory McIlroy wins the Masters, recap with Myles Dichter of Basement Golf 2 months ago Duration 9:25 "It means a lot. I haven't, I guess, hidden my aspirations for national opens and where I would like them to be, what their standing is in the professional game of golf. So this has meant a lot," McIlroy said. Since 2019, McIlroy has made a habit of playing the Canadian Open, even as it's bounced around a bit on the schedule. Further cementing his commitment to national opens, McIlroy also recently said he would play in the Australian Open — an off-season event that typically does not draw the best fields — for the next two seasons as well as the Indian Open in October. In Canada, his results — win, win, T9, T4 — speak for themselves, but there's also the added bonus of U.S. Open prep. The third major of the season begins next Thursday at Oakmont Country Club in Philadelphia. "Before playing in this event, 2016, 2017, 2018, I missed three cuts in a row at the U.S. Open, and since playing the Canadian Open the week before, I've had six top 10s in a row. So there's something to that," he said. "But then obviously playing in front of the Canadian fans and everything that goes along with that and the enthusiasm, you guys only get to see this sort of golf once a year, so I think once it does come along, it's really appreciated." National opens a 'massive part of the game' Defending champion Robert MacIntyre used the Canadian Open as a springboard last year, going on to win his own national open in Scotland a few weeks later. MacIntyre called national opens "huge" when he met with media on Tuesday. "There's a lot of Canadian players here this week obviously wanting to win the Canadian Open. Everyone's wanting to win this week, but it just adds an extra incentive for the Canadian guys because it's the Canadian Open, and I think the crowd also builds on that," MacIntyre said. "National opens are a massive part of the game. I just wish that we'd done more to promote a lot more national opens." In Canada, McIlroy's continued presence has provided promotional pull of its own. Take one glance at the field and you'll see plenty of familiar names, including former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa. Also in the field are a slew of McIlroy's fellow European Ryder Cuppers in MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Ludvig Aberg. They are all decent bets to return to the team for the September competition in New York. "I think a lot of the European guys like to play the week before a major," McIlroy said. "But I think for the most part, [the Canadian Open has] become a very, very good tournament, and I think because of that, and you see guys playing each and every year, I think the field then starts to become stronger because you see your peers do something, and we're all sort of like sheep out here." WATCH | Caledon, Ont., set to host its first Canadian Open: RBC Canadian Open tees off for the 1st time in Caledon 1 day ago Duration 1:51 The RBC Canadian Open tees off for the first time in Caledon on Thursday. This year, 25 Canadians are contesting for the golf tournament's top prize. For McIlroy himself, the Canadian Open this year is acting as a "reset" on a season that saw early wins at famed courses like Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass before his Masters triumph. Now, he's looking forward to a second half that will include next week's U.S. Open and July's Open Championship at Royal Portrush, which will be contested in his home country of Northern Ireland. "You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again. I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head what I want to do, where I want to play," he said. Where he wanted to play was the Canadian Open, even as speculation piled up over his absences at PGA Championship post-round media and the Memorial entirely. Now, those questions have been put to rest. McIlroy is back at a tournament with which he's become synonymous, and the two-time winner is looking to make it three. "Anytime you start to rack up multiple wins in places, especially with a trophy like the Canadian Open and the names that are on that trophy, there's not many that are on it three times, so yeah, it would be very cool," McIlroy said.
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Rory McIlroy playing with new freedom after Masters win, says there's a reason he didn't talk to Bryson deChambeau during Augusta battle
A day after committing to the next two Australian Opens, Rory McIlroy says he's playing with 'house money' after completing the career grand slam and that freedom could produce something special. McIlroy, the world No.2 will start the PGA Championship at a soggy Quail Hollow no longer 'burdened' by targets after his Masters success. Instead, he's now freed up to look to play 'my best golf' and tick off personal goals, including adding another Australian Open title to his resume after inking a deal to play in 2025 at Royal Melbourne and 2026 at Kingston Heath. 'Look, I have achieved everything that I've wanted – I've done everything I've wanted to do in the game,' he said. 'I dreamt as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I've done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus. 'I feel like I sort of burdened myself with the career grand slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this. 'I want to enjoy what I've achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don't want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can.' Despite ticking all his career boxes, McIlroy said his competitive fire had not been diminished. He could just now approach his career in a different way in pursuit of more wins. 'I'm just the same person. I turn up and try to have the same attitude and the same approach to each and every tournament and try to get the best out of myself. Some weeks that results in wins, and some weeks it doesn't,' he said. 'As long as I approach every week that way, all I can do is go out there and try to play the golf that I know that I'm capable of. As I said, some weeks someone just plays better than you, and other weeks it's your time. 'I've played over 400 events in my career. I've played a lot of major championships. I know how these things go, and you've just got to go out there and play.' Under questioning in North Carolina, McIlroy was asked about brushing playing partner Bryson deChambeau in the final round at Augusta after the LIV star revealed the Masters champ didn't talk to him for the entire round. 'I don't know what he was expecting. We're trying to win the Masters. I'm not going to try to be his best mate out there,' McIlroy said. 'Look, everyone approaches the game different ways. I was focused on myself and what I needed to do. That's really all that it was. 'It wasn't anything against him … it's just I felt that's what I needed to do to try to get the best out of myself that day.'
CNA
14-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
McIlroy living the dream at Quail Hollow with career Grand Slam complete
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina :Rory McIlroy, whose Masters triumph last month completed a years-long pursuit of the career Grand Slam, said on Wednesday he has accomplished everything in golf he ever dreamed of and will not be burdened by any number-specific goals going forward. The five-times major champion was a picture of contentment while talking to reporters at Quail Hollow Club on the eve of the PGA Championship knowing his golf bingo card is complete. "I have achieved everything that I've wanted - I've done everything I've wanted to do in the game," said McIlroy. "I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I've done that. "Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus." McIlroy's quest for an elusive Masters title had consumed him and become a tiring and burdensome decade-long narrative each year the Northern Irishman arrived at Augusta National for the year's first major. When his winning putt dropped on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff, a visibly moved and emotional McIlroy dropped to his knees and cried, releasing years of pent-up pressure and expectations. "I feel like I sort of burdened myself with the career Grand Slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this," said McIlroy. "I want to enjoy what I've achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don't want to burden myself by numbers or statistics. I just want to go and try to play the best golf I can." The 36-year-old McIlroy is still a force wherever he tees it up but even he finds it hard to imagine anything that could top what he achieved at Augusta National. "I'm still going to set myself goals. I'm still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that that very well could be the highlight of my career," said McIlroy. "That's a very cool thing. I want to still create a lot of other highlights and high points, but I'm not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago." This year's PGA Championship is being contested on a course where McIlroy has enjoyed more success than any other golfer, leading some to suggest he could leave Quail Hollow halfway to completing an unthinkable calendar-year Grand Slam. But McIlroy refuses to burden himself with such talk and will instead focus on giving his best each week. "I think everyone saw how hard having a north star is and being able to get over the line," said McIlroy. "If I can just try to get the best out of myself each and every week, I know what my abilities are; I know the golf that I can play. "And if I keep turning up and just trying to do that each and every week, especially in these four big ones a year, I know that I'll have my chances. I've always said I'm never going to put a number on it."
Irish Times
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
US PGA: Jordan Spieth resumes quest for elusive Grand Slam
For a long time, Jordan Spieth's quest for the career Grand Slam was no longer a story. His game had fallen off the face of the earth, his world ranking had collapsed, there was a five-year wilderness when he failed to win any kind of tournament, let alone the only Major he needed to complete the set. And then, at the Masters in April, Rory McIlroy slayed the dragon. The US PGA was next. By an incalculable exchange rate, Spieth's quest had currency again. For McIlroy, the story had never died. It had become an instrument of torture. For 11 straight years he turned up at Augusta and faced the same questions. If not now, why? If not now, when? Spieth was spared that persecution. For him, the torment was different: people stopped thinking that the questions were valid. Everyone believed they knew the answer. 'It's funny, I think, if Rory didn't [complete the career Grand Slam], then it wouldn't have been a storyline for me here necessarily,' said Spieth in his pre-tournament press conference. 'I mean, it's always a storyline if I work my way [into contention], but I just feel like I've been asked about it more [this year] than other years, including years [like] '22 where I came in after winning and finishing second back-to-back. READ MORE 'So, I've kind of been surprised by the dynamic a little bit. But it's always ringed on the calendar for me. Obviously watching Rory win after giving it a try for a number of years was inspiring.' Remember what he was like in his pomp? When he won the Open at Royal Birkdale in 2017, he had completed three parts of the career Grand Slam from just 19 appearances in Majors; only Jack Nicklaus had reached that point more quickly. 'I have never been more confident about anybody winning the career Grand Slam as I am about Jordan Spieth,' Gary Player said. At his dominant peak in 2015, Jordan Spieth was ranked first in putting average. Photograph:Two years before that, in 2015, nobody could touch him. Two Major victories, three wins in regular tour events, five runner-up finishes, including at the US PGA Championship, he finished one shot outside a play-off at the Open too. However far-fetched as it seemed, a career Grand Slam in that season alone had been entirely plausible. Through a crowded field, he climbed nine spots to the summit of the world rankings. Not all champions are lovable and relatable, but Spieth was. He was unaffected by success, respectful and grounded; he wore his talent lightly. In some respects, he was a superhero version of the Everyman golfer. Golf's tormented triers could identify with the kinks in Spieth's game. He didn't hit the ball miles, he was liable to get into a pickle, and you could tell, as soon as he hit a bad shot, that he couldn't quite understand why. The superpower that quelled the destructiveness in his game was his putting. At his dominant peak in 2015, he was ranked first in putting average, first in one-putt percentage and first in putts-per-round. That part of his game, though, spiralled into a state of perpetual crisis. By 2020 he was outside the top 100 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained putting. At the Majors, he was rarely in the hunt. In his eight appearances at the US PGA since the career Grand Slam became a possibility, he has put himself in a challenging position just once. Jordan Spieth celebrates victory during the final round of the 146th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 2017 in Southport, England. Photograph:'A lot of times, I wasn't in very good form,' he said. 'If you're not in very good form coming into a Major – I mean, I had a chance in 2019, and I was not in form. I was in the final group on Saturday with Brooks [Koepka], and I was like, I know what it's like to have control of my game. I've played with Brooks with control of my game, and I see what he's doing right now, and I don't have it. Let's see if I can fake it these next two days.' He couldn't. Spieth finished in a tie for third, six shots behind Koepka. He was still miles from bottoming out. In January 2019 he was ranked number 18 in the world; exactly two years later he was ranked 92. By the time he won the Valero Texas Open in 2022 he had gone 83 tournaments without a win. Since then, the rehabilitation of his form has been slow and mostly steady. Injury also intervened. He hurt his wrist playing with his son in May 2023 but didn't have surgery until 15 months later. 'I wake up in the morning and I'm very aware I had surgery,' he said. 'My left [wrist] feels twice the size of my right for about a half-hour every morning. They say that stops after about a year post-op.' Career Grand Slam? This week? It was worth asking the question.
The Independent
13-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Jordan Spieth eager to emulate Rory McIlroy and complete career grand slam at US PGA Championship
Jordan Spieth admits he has been inspired by Rory McIlroy completing the career grand slam as he bids to join golf's most exclusive club himself. Just five weeks after McIlroy won the Masters to become the sixth player to have claimed all four major titles, Spieth can make it a magnificent seven by ending his own major drought with victory in the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. It will be Spieth's ninth attempt to complete the career grand slam since he secured the third leg in the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and he will be optimistic of mounting a sustained challenge for the first time. Although Spieth was third at Bethpage in 2019 he finished six shots behind winner Brooks Koepka and was only that close thanks to five bogeys in the last eight holes from his Ryder Cup team-mate. It is also three years since Spieth's last victory on the PGA Tour at the RBC Heritage, but he had recorded four straight top-20 finishes before last week's tie for 34th in the Truist Championship and closed with a bogey-free 62 in the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, his lowest round for four years. "There's been a number of years I've come to the PGA and no-one's really asked me about it," Spieth said of the career grand slam. "There's been some years where it was a storyline, I guess. It's funny, I think if Rory hadn't (done it) then it wouldn't have been a storyline for me here necessarily. "I just feel like I've been asked about it more than other years, including years like '22 when I came in after winning and finishing second back-to-back. So I've kind of been surprised by the dynamic a little bit. "But it's always circled on the calendar. For me, if I could only win one tournament for the rest of my life, I'd pick this one for that reason. Obviously watching Rory win after giving it a try for a number of years was inspiring. "You could tell it was a harder win than... most of the time he makes it look a lot easier. So that (the grand slam) obviously was on the forefront of his mind. "Something like that has not been done by many people, and there's a reason why. But I'd love to throw my hat in the ring and give it a chance come the weekend this week." Spieth insisted he was not "insulted" to be overlooked as a potential winner on occasion due to his indifferent form, but feels it is a different story this week at a venue where he won all five of his matches in the 2022 Presidents Cup. "I think I've been trending really well," Spieth added. "I had an off week on approach (shots) last week, which has actually been something that's been, I think, trending nicely for me. "Just made some kind of dumb mistakes that were multiple-shot problems around that kind of old-school course. "But kind of throwing that out, I feel really good about some of the stuff I've been working on, some of the mechanics and traction of how I'm swinging the club or getting more sound and more consistent. "I'm getting more confident in that, feeling like I can play all the ball flights that I'd like to. You need that around this golf course because you've got to work it both ways, different heights. "Although the course is soft now, the greens - even as it was raining, were still firm so you're just going to have to be a shot maker around here."
