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Rory McIlroy has said that he won’t lose  sleep if he goes the rest of his career without winning another major.

It is coming up on four years since the most recent of the Northern Irishman’s major victories – the 2014 US PGA Championship – but, rather than be alarmed, McIlroy insists it doesn’t bother him.

“If I didn’t win another major for the rest of my career, nothing is going to change in my life,” he said. “Obviously, I don’t feel like I’ll have fulfilled my potential but, at the same time, there’s other things in my life that are more important than golf.

“I’d be disappointed but again, it’s not going to change things. I don’t panic. It doesn’t keep me up at night.”

• Rory rues ‘disappointing’ 2018 near-misses
• Rory tweaks swing after US Open missed cut

At the Masters in April, McIlroy put himself in a great position to become just the sixth player in history to complete the career grand slam before being undone by a disappointing final round.

However, speaking to the media ahead of the Irish Open – which gets underway today – he said that adding to his major haul wasn’t a priority for him at the start of the season.

Rory Mc Ilroy

“My goal this year, it wasn’t to win majors,” he added. “It was just to give myself a chance and to put myself in positions to see how I fair. I did that at Augusta. I felt like I learned a bit from it and then hopefully going into Carnoustie [The Open] and Bellerive [US PGA], I can put myself in similar positions.

• McIlroy dismisses criticism of his mental strength
• Rory explains reasons for US Open missed cut

“I think getting married and thinking about the future and what that entails, that’s huge. I think as you get older and as you evolve as a person, you change and your perspective on things changes a little bit. It’s not just the golf nowadays. There’s a lot more that goes into it.

“It’s still my career and I still want to make the most of it and I still feel like I have a lot of time left to make my mark on golf but at the same time, as I said, it doesn’t keep me up at night thinking. ‘If I never win another major, I can’t live with myself.’”


author headshot

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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