Following his career Grand Slam win at the 2025 Masters, Rory McIlroy confessed during the 2025 U.S. Open run, “Just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working.” The golf world, however, asked: Does that mean McIlroy has lost his spark after the Augusta National win? During his Oakmont run, legendary golfer Paul McGinley tried to answer that and said, “His [McIlroy] eyes weren’t alive. The energy was not there.” But as per another golf legend, this McIlroy assessment is flat-out “unfair.”

Ahead of The Open Championship 2025, the man and the legend, Sir Nick Faldo, sat down for an interview with Sky Sports Golf. And there, he discussed the recent controversies surrounding Rory McIlroy following his Grand Slam win. Faldo began, “You know, to be honest, we’re being a little unfair. No, nobody, none of us. Well, only Jack [Nicklaus], only Jack and, well, Gary [Player], Jack, and Tiger [Woods] can tell you what it feels like [to win a Grand Slam]. It’s something pretty monumental. So, yeah, we don’t know how you’re meant to react.”

Nick Faldo continued, “Yeah, but maybe it takes time, and I’m not sure if that happens the next day. Yeah, I don’t think you… our game’s never like the next, oh, freedom, let me go.” Only six pros have won the career Grand Slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Rory McIlroy. However, of course, McIlroy took almost 11 years to finish his. Rory McIlroy’s Masters win, which he likened to conquering Everest, sparked hopes of a major-winning streak, but those were dashed when he struggled at the 2025 PGA Championship and the 2025 U.S. Open.

The result? Disappointed fans and analysts, and several think pieces. Scottie Scheffler, as another major-winning pro, tried to explain it. During the 2025 U.S. Open, Scheffler said, “There’s definitely an aspect of having an achievement that you’ve thought about for a long time and then being able to achieve that goal.” Scheffler pointed out, “adrenaline, part of competing for four days on a really difficult golf course, keeping your head in it for 72 holes, which is a long time, and just mentally it’s exhausting. Physically, it’s a grind too.” 

So, is the exhaustion getting to Rory McIlroy? There are two ways to answer this question. Firstly, at the 2025 U.S. Open, McIlroy said he is trying to have a “little bit of amnesia,” to “find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working.” On the other hand, McIlroy’s recent form, after a slight slump, has been promising. He finished T6 at the 2025 Travelers Championship and T2 at the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open. So, is this a sign that Rory McIlroy is finally ready to “embrace everything” that golf can offer him? Yes, at least he says so.

Rory McIlroy is trying not to “shy away from” the Royal Portrush challenge

Ahead of The Open Championship, Rory McIlroy sat down for an interview at Royal Portrush and said, “I am going to embrace everything that’s going to come my way this week and not try to shy away from it. I think that will make for a better experience for everyone involved.” The Open’s return to Portrush after 68 years in 2019 put McIlroy under a microscope, given his roots just 100km away in Holywood, where he’s a national hero.

McIlroy admitted trying to tune out the hype then, but it didn’t translate to success on the course, as he carded rounds of 79 and 65, missing the cut. Talking about the immense pressure that came at The Open in 2019, McIlroy said, “I thought ‘Geez, these people really want me to win’. I think that brought its own sort of pressure. More internally from myself, wanting not to let people down. I guess it’s just something I didn’t mentally prepare for that day or that week.” 

McIlroy’s history with Royal Portrush isn’t all bad. In fact, he holds a special connection to the course, where he set a record 61 as a 16-year-old during the 2005 North of Ireland Amateur Championship. Talking about his love for the place, McIlroy said, “It’s lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that’s happened this year.” 

Rory McIlroy may have spent months figuring out what winning meant. But now, back where it all began—at Royal Portrush—he’s not chasing answers. He’s chasing golf. And maybe that’s all he ever needed to do. This homecoming could spark his momentum. This year’s The Open Championship will mark McIlroy’s 15th time competing in the fourth men’s major. He first teed off as an amateur in 2007, finishing T42. Beyond his 2014 win at Royal Liverpool, McIlroy has notched six other top-10 finishes. So, it’s not far-fetched to say that this year’s edition of the event, he just might have a solid chance. Till then, the question remains: did Rory McIlroy really lose his spark following his Masters win, or was the golf world too quick to judge him?