It took 10 years and eight months between major championship victories for Rory McIlroy to climb to the mountaintop again, but on Sunday at The Masters, the drought ended, the career grand slam was completed and a new chapter can begin for the 35-year-old.
Over the past decade, it's been immensely frustrating for McIlroy and his fans alike to watch one of the game's best not be able to get over the hunt in majors, specifically at The Masters. Augusta National is a course tailored to his game but, ever since his catastrophic collapse in 2011, he'd never been able to get it done. Those demons have all been exorcised, though. He's a five-time major winner and the best could still be yet to come.
Perhaps it's too early, but maybe not, to ask what's next for McIlroy. Specifically, now that the hurdle of another major title has been cleared, it's fair to wonder when he will win his next major championship. What's crazy is that The Masters might actually be a week we look back on as the floodgates finally reopening for Rory, much like they did when he won four majors in a two-year span.
And it could start as early as next month in May.
Rory McIlroy can win his next major at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow
The 2025 PGA Championship will be the next major championship on the calendar this year and is set to be played in Charlotte, NC at Quail Hollow Club. For those who don't know, Rory McIlroy has been nothing short of dominant throughout his career when it comes to playing Quail Hollow.
Though this will be the second time that it has hosted the PGA Championship, Quail Hollow is an annual stop on the PGA Tour for the formerly-Wells Fargo Championship that is now under a new sponsorship deal and called the Truist Championship. McIlroy has been virtually unstoppable at that course and that event, winning four times at Quail Hollow in addition to a runner-up finish and four other Top 10 finishes as well.
In the 2017 PGA Championship played there, McIlroy finished tied for 22nd.
While nothing is guaranteed, especially with the relief and potential comedown of finally capturing the career grand slam at The Masters this past week, Quail Hollow perfectly suits McIlroy and all his strengths. It rewards his length off the tee, it's a place where he's comfortable on the greens, and it's a venue where he simply knows how to succeed.
It took a decade plus from Rory McIlroy's fourth major at the 2014 PGA Championship to the 2025 Masters Tournament as he won his fifth. Now, there's a real possibility it only takes a month for him to win his next.