Has Rory McIlroy rekindled his love to dominate golf?

Rory McIlroy defended his RBC Canadian Open title on Sunday, but it was what he said after that should scare the rest of golf.

Everyone wants to focus on Rory McIlroy trolling Greg Norman with his 21st win, but this victory solidifies something deeper inside him that is about to blow the golf world’s mind.

Most fans and golf people think that troll-job was the best part of his interview with CBS Sports’ Amanda Renner, but in fact, the most compelling part came in the question after that hot-topic quote.

He provided a quote that should excite his fans and scare competitors. McIlroy has rekindled his love for golf in a way that allows him to be open and free on the course as he did earlier in his career.

Sure we’ve heard that a million times, but his tone sent chills down my spine, and there is a gut feeling that McIlroy is about to dominate again.

While some will say not to get your hopes up too much about him saying what he did, I think this time is different.

There is a war going on between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, and while everyone is entitled to their own decision and opinion — he has taken it personally and has something personal to prove to himself.

When he said, “I sort of rededicated myself to the game a little bit; sort of realized what made me happy, and this makes me happy.”

That statement is the breadwinner of the whole interview.

Rory McIlroy’s flame burns hotter as the season continues

We all know Mcllroy to be one of the best golfers in the world, and his résumé proves that. He has also not been the dominant, aggressive golfer he was earlier in his career in recent years.

Even when he wins five-plus times on the PGA Tour or a FedEx Cup title — it’s not the Rors that went on runs and almost won the grand slam.

What happened to him? Life and other things showed him that golf isn’t always the No. 1 thing, but now that a routine is together with his family, he can refocus on the game he loves.

Have we heard the whole reboot thing before? Yeah, but when he said that, his game wasn’t at the level it is right now. McIlroy continues to evolve like so many of the greats have in the past.

He has done the marriage thing, the father thing, but now he can do the golf stuff again without feeling guilty about leaving his wife and daughter. Not that he has, but some of the videos and other content I’ve seen when he told Poppy, “that’s when Daddy was good,” break your heart because he is too damn good not to dominate on the PGA Tour.

That fire was out for a while, and anyone who watches golf could see that. Many people don’t think we will ever see what young Rory did again, but I’m afraid I have to disagree.

Maybe it’s the Kool-Aid talking, but something about how he said this is what makes me happy, and the definitive tone tells me that he has that feeling again. McIlroy knows he has that itch to win, the same one that every professional golfer has, but when it comes to him, it’s different.

Even without that fire, he has been able to do something only five other golfers did before turning 34, and that is 4-plus majors and 21-plus victories.

So despite him not being the player, we all fell in love with, that shows just how downright talented McIlroy is on a golf course. There is a reason Tiger Woods loves him, and it’s because they share the same love, determination, and passion for the game.

Now that he has this “incentive” to succeed again, watch out, world.

An overcoming feeling that Rory McIlroy is about to do something special

This feeling I have didn’t just come from the win last weekend but got hot with his surge at the end of the Masters, and it began to slow boil after a few more rounds of really incredible golf. Now, it’s overflowing because he became the first player since 1952 to defend his title in Canada successfully, and his game looks good in every aspect.

Off the tee, he was absolutely incredible.

The driver has been something that caused him turmoil in recent years, but when he is feeling the big stick, well, the results prove everything.

Through this past weekend, McIlroy is No. 3 on the PGA Tour right now in strokes-gained off-the-tee averaging .913 through 38 rounds with 31.056 total. He leads the Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green this season with a 1.88 average.

At the tournament, he led the field in strokes-gained tee-to-green with an average of 3.55. He was No. 6 in strokes gained off-the-tee with a 1.05 average and a 4.22 total.

He was No. 7 in strokes gained: putting at the RBC Canadian Open, averaging 1.5 and 5.92 total.

The game from tee to green was in great shape, and that is what he needs to win tournaments. He also needs that fiery passion that we all love.

Wouldn’t it be great to see that passion as we saw in the Ryder Cup match against Patrick Reed? I think we’re about to see that level of intensity from him moving into the last part of the season.

Rory McIlroy is the next great and still has so much golf left

McIlroy will go down as one of the best to play this game, and this win in Canada could reignite a fire within him to go on a great run. We haven’t seen a run, outside Scottie Scheffler, in a while, so it would be nice to see McIlroy do it.

For a time, I accepted that McIlroy would be elite but never have the intensity and fire to do what the other golf greats have. However, I don’t believe that anymore.

Sunday showed us he still has a lot of golf left in his young tank and that even though he has been around a while, the end is nowhere near in sight.

The way he speaks about golf reminds me of the early days. While it may take more convincing than an RBC Canadian Open victory for others to believe we’re about to see something great, I’ll jump on this boat early.

McIlroy is a stud. He is a generational player who can do even greater things than he has already done. Maybe McIlroy just needed to remind himself of that. Right now, it seems like that reminder is front and center — until he achieves whatever goal McIlroy has in mind, the PGA Tour better hold on tight.

If McIlroy goes on a run, it won’t be to win five times on Tour in one season, but it’s going to be something that genuinely solidifies his spot among the all-time greats.

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