Rory McIlroy’s historic Masters win was meant to bring him everything he desired. It was supposed to liberate him and heal the resilient star who had endured years of heartbreak.
Instead, when McIlroy collapsed to the ground at Augusta National, releasing 14 years (perhaps a lifetime) of pent-up emotions, he did not find self-fulfilment. Shedding the weight of time and expectation instead posed another question: What now?
“Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next,” McIlroy said before last week’s 2025 U.S. Open at Oakmont. “I’ve always been a player who struggles to play after a big event, after I win a tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something, and you want to relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal. Chasing a goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I’m entitled to a bit of time to relax.”
“I think it’s about having a touch of amnesia and forgetting what happened six weeks ago,” McIlroy continued. “Then trying to find the motivation to go back out and work as hard as I’ve been working. I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year until April this year. It was rewarding to see the fruits of my labour come to fruition. But you have to enjoy that. I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and will continue to do so.”
With his dreams achieved, McIlroy faced an existential question common to all: humans are not meant to be fulfilled by a single achievement. Self-actualisation does not come from one triumph. We are wired to be constant searchers, always chasing the next goal. How do you find fulfilment when there is always more to pursue?
When David Duval won the 2001 Open Championship, he wondered on the plane home if that was “it.” Kevin Durant didn’t find what he expected after his first NBA championship with the Golden State Warriors. It is, in some sense, an endless quest.
Last summer, Lydia Ko stood with tears streaming down her face at the 2024 Summer Olympics. With a gold medal around her neck, Ko, a women’s golf star for over a decade, became a Hall of Famer with a dazzling display in Paris. Weeks later, her whirlwind summer continued with a win at the AIG Women’s Open at St. Andrews. As Sean Zak chronicled in a sit-down with Ko, the 28-year-old had summited another mountain.
Now a Hall of Famer after the summer of a lifetime, Ko understood what McIlroy is now navigating.
“I thought my life or the way I viewed myself would change when I entered the Hall of Fame and achieved my goals, and I’m sure Rory is thinking similarly, where everyone said the Masters was the one he was missing. And then he did it,” Ko said on Tuesday at PGA Frisco ahead of the 2025 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. “As much as I’m sure he’s thrilled and relieved, he was just as good the day before he won it.
“I came to terms with that. Sometimes, when goals are within reach and you see the statistics, you feel you should do more. We take for granted what we’ve already achieved. That’s what I realised most, and it made me understand I still need to go out, practise, and put in the time to play well the following week.”
For those like Ko and McIlroy, who have reached the pinnacle of their craft, there’s always “more.” That drive defines them. The key is balancing pride in past achievements with the desire for more, without feeling empty.
“I’m sure he wanted to win the U.S. Open when he teed off,” Ko said. “We’re greedy in that sense; nothing will fully satisfy us until we’re done. That’s not a bad thing. It’s why we play. It’s why he’s at his level—because of his competitiveness.”
McIlroy finished with a Sunday 3-under 67 at Oakmont and sounded optimistic about finding a path out of his malaise towards a new mountain at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush next month.
“If I can’t get motivated for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me,” McIlroy said. “I climbed my Everest in April, and after something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down and look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
For Ko, this week’s KPMG Women’s PGA at Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco offers a chance to pursue her own career Grand Slam. Having won the Women’s Open Championship, the Evian, and the ANA Inspiration (now the Chevron Championship), Ko needs the U.S. Women’s Open and the KPMG Women’s PGA to complete what she considers a true career Grand Slam, despite the LPGA classifying four majors as sufficient. Karrie Webb is the only player to win the super career Grand Slam (five different majors).
Ko believes the KPMG Women’s PGA suits her game. “I feel like the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship is one I could and should win, given the type of golf courses we play,” she said. “I saw Meg Mallon and Beth Daniel yesterday and said, hopefully, I can join you at the champions’ dinner someday with a menu curated by me.
“It would be fantastic,” Ko added, envisioning herself hoisting the trophy in Frisco. “I told my caddie I shouldn’t have won the British Open, given my poor record at St. Andrews, especially after the Olympics. If I made the impossible possible, I feel that by playing good golf, being smart, and staying committed, I can create opportunities. Whether it’s this one or future events, I’m not sure, but I really like it here.”
The key may lie in the peace Ko found after entering the Hall of Fame: embracing the chase.
“I’m enjoying playing more now than before, which puts me in a better mindset where I’m less frustrated and stressed,” Ko said. “When things are on the line, emotions can shift. There were many emotions at last year’s U.S. Open, purely because it means so much to us players. You never know until that pressure and moment arrive.
“That’s why we play—for those key moments.”
This article originated on Golf.com
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