A career grand slam is the pinnacle that all professional golfers aim for and strive for. After a long waiting period of 18 years, Rory McIlroy has finally achieved his dream and reaped the fruits of his labor. He became one of the six elite golfers to achieve a career grand slam after a playoff victory at the Masters 2025, with an exceptional score of 11 under par 277. However, since the Masters, the golfer has not been in his best form. Well, experts say he is in a post-grand slam slumber.

In the recent Foreplay Plus Podcast hosted by Frankie, Trent, and Riggs, Trent explained how any golfer has to be confident and be best in spirit to play in the challenging course of Oakmont. Frankie then talked about how McIlroy has been down in spirit after the Masters, citing the outrageous score of 11 over par 81 by Rory, he said, “You gotta wonder if that deep motivation is still there now that he’s done it. Maybe it’s just a human thing—once that pressure and stress lift, something inside shifts, and you can’t fake it. That weight might’ve helped him focus, pushed him to another level. Now that he’s reached the summit, the question is—what’s left to chase?” That actually might seem true.

When McIlroy was asked about what his next plan is after the career grand slam, the man gave a reply which indicated a feeling of being lost, “I don’t have one. I have no idea. I’m sort of just taking it tournament by tournament at this point. Yeah, I have no idea. Just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working,”. These statements made by him prove the reason why the player hasn’t had a great run since the Masters. First, he chose to stay away from the Memorial tournament, which was unheard of because of his friendship with Jack Nicklaus; this is the first time since 2017. What made things worse is the fact that he didn’t care to let Jack know about his absence. Later, he missed the cut for the RBC Canadian Open. The performance at the Canadian Open marked the worst 36-hole score of McIlroy’s career. All these instances prove that Frankie’s predictions actually came true. Towards the end of the podcast, Riggs further said, “He’s gone, this guy, he’s just gone.” referring to his post grand slam attitude.

In the recent post by NUCLR Golf, the lack of motivation clearly evident in his performance, and fans have raised concerns. Well, how do experts react to this?

After the Masters, he played two events, the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry to finish T12, and the Truist Championship, in which he finished T7. In both these events, he carried the burden of expectations that come with winning a career grand slam. He then had a very poor performance at the PGA Championship, finishing tied 47th.

His performances and his demeanour at press conferences have sparked concerns even among experts. Paul McGinley, a former Ryder Cup Captain, has expressed his concerns, “It was very worrying looking at his press conference. His eyes weren’t alive. The energy was not there,” as per the SUN. In the interview, he said it’s clearly worrying and very un-Rory-like, after which he went on to say he would be back if we gave him some time to reset.

McGinley empathised with McIlroy, saying, “I think I’ve always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something, and you want to enjoy it, and you want to sort of relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal. You want to be there and you put in the energy, but something inside you is just missing.”  Addressing McIlroy’s tightly packed schedule, which hasn’t given him enough time to rest and enjoy his grand slam victory. However, some athletes completely disappear after they have achieved what they needed to. Maybe McIlroy might be aiming for something like that. However, it won’t be new to the world of golf.

Bobby Jones left golf after a grand slam

Bobby Jones is the first American and the first golfer in history to achieve a grand slam. This was the era when the Masters Tournament did not exist. This makes him the one and only golfer to achieve a grand slam. He has won 23 tournaments out of the 52 he has played in. Jones started his golfing career at just age six, just like McIlroy, who started playing in his early childhood. By the age of 21, Jones became the US Champion in golf. Later on September 27, 1930, in the final match, he defeated Eugene Homans 8 and 7 on the 11th hole. This match gave him the Grand Slam title at just 28. He became the youngest golfer to achieve this feat.

However, when the whole world expected him to play more golf for his country, he did the unimaginable: he retired from golf. He then went on to pursue his other interests, such as designing golf clubs and making instructional movies. In 1932, he designed a set of woods and the first ever matched set of irons for Spalding Golf Company, which sold 2 million sets in 15 different models. He is also the founder of the Augusta National Club and the Peachtree Golf Club. So, amidst all the concerns of Rory’s performance, do you think he will be the next Bobby Jones?