What's next for McIlroy?
Don't worry Rory, we've got plenty more questions; Olympics adds mixed-team event
Rory McIlroy accepts the green jacket from Scottie Scheffler (Logan Whitton/ANGC)
AUGUSTA, Ga. — With his green jacket on his shoulders and a very satisfied look of accomplishment on his face, Rory McIlroy started his Masters champion’s press conference a little differently than most.
“I’d like to start this press conference with a question myself: What are we all going to talk about next year?” he said with a laugh.
For the last 11 years, the narrative regarding McIlroy has been a broken record of questions the Northern Irishman had been unable to answer until Sunday. Can he ever win at Augusta and complete the career grand slam? Can or when will he add to his collection of four major wins? Is the pressure of making history too big for him?
All those have been answered with his riveting playoff victory over Justin Rose on Sunday evening as the patrons chanted “Rory! Rory! Rory!” and the golf world shouted “Hallelujah!” that it was finally done and McIlroy etched his name on the list with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods as the only men in history to win all four of golf’s professional major championships.
“It’s the best day of my golfing life,” he said Sunday night in Augusta. “And yeah, I’m very proud of myself. I’m proud of never giving up. I’m proud of how I kept coming back and dusting myself off and not letting the disappointments really get to me. Talking about that eternal optimist again. Yeah, very proud.”
But fear not, Rory. There are a lot more questions to ask now that his career slam and major drought have both been laid to rest.
Let’s start with one McIlroy has never been asked until now. With the green jacket his, can he sweep the calendar grand slam in 2025?
It’s a fairer question than usual, considering the PGA Championship next month is played at Quail Hollow where McIlroy already owns an enviable record of success with four career victories there including his maiden PGA Tour win in 2010 when he established the course scoring record and then again in 2015, 2021 and 2024. McIlroy finished T13 in the 2017 PGA Championship played at Quail.
The Open Championship returns in July to Royal Portrush, where Shane Lowry won the claret jug in 2019. McIlroy set the competitive course record at Portrush when he was on 16, firing a 61 in the 2005 North of Ireland Amateur. He’ll be eager to make up for his 2019 Open appearance there when he couldn’t recover from hitting his opening drive out of bounds en route to an 8 and an eventual missed cut.
This year’s U.S. Open is at Oakmont, and with it’s lack of trees the stern test should present McIlroy with plenty of opportunities. Lowry actually held the 54-hole lead by four shots in the 2016 U.S. Open there only to finish tied for second after a Sunday 76. McIlroy missed the cut, doomed by an opening 77.
McIlroy lifted one historic burden; how many more can he get? (David Paul Morris/ANGC)
Another question when he comes back to Augusta next April: can he join Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Woods (2001-02) as the only players to win back-to-back Masters? With the monkey off his back after 17 tries — and 11 with the career slam on the line — will he find it easier to play freely at Augusta?
“It was a heavy weight to carry, and thankfully now I don’t have to carry it and it frees me up and I know I’m coming back here every year, which is lovely,” he said. “I've just become more accustomed to the noise that sort of surrounds my whole Masters week and I’ve become a little more comfortable with it.”
McIlroy will also be asked what he plans to serve at next year’s Champions Dinner, which is unlikely to be Irish stew. Several chefs in Northern Ireland at restaurants McIlroy has been known to frequent told the Daily Mail that his fellow green-jacketed peers can expect to see a shellfish platter (prawns, scallops, crab and oysters) as well as a filet steak with red wine, maybe triple-cooked chips and perhaps a plate of Irish cheeses in lieu of dessert.
The biggest question of all will be where McIlroy might go from here and how many majors he might collect now that he’s broken the ice and earned his fifth.
“So we could start talking about 10, 15 majors — crazy stuff now that he’s got the last of the grand slam,” said fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington.
McIlroy doesn’t deny there have been plenty of low points in the gap between major wins in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2025 and a lot of heartbreak as he struggled with the pressure to change his story.
“There’s been a few. It’s hard because, like, I’ve played so much good golf. It’s hard to call the second-place finishes (low points),” he said. “St. Andrews was a tough one to take because you only get a few opportunities there, you know, during the course of your career. The U.S. Open last year was awful. But yeah, the losses are hard, and you know, again, just so proud of myself that I keep coming back and putting myself in positions to win these championships.”
McIlroy has long stated his goal was to win more majors than any other European golfer. Nick Faldo holds the modern record with six (three Masters and three British Opens) and McIlroy is now tied with Seve Ballesteros on five. Harry Vardon of Jersey won seven majors (six British Opens and one U.S. Open) from 1896-1914 while Scotland’s James Braid (1901-1910) and England’s John Henry Taylor (1894-1913) won five British Opens each.
Winning more will make answering this question easier — is McIlroy now the greatest champion in European history?
The career grand slam creates a strong case that he already is, since more European player has the diversity of success that McIlroy has on his CV. With 27 PGA Tour victories — tied for 17th on the all-time list with Harry Cooper — McIlroy holds the most of any Euro player in history.
But Faldo does have one more major title. And Seve is Seve — a 50-time Euro Tour winner who built the circuit on the shoulders of his prodigious skill and personality. McIlroy’s complete skill set is arguably the greatest of any European golfer ever, though Seve’s artistry was one of a kind.
McIlroy crumbled in relief as the golf world rejoiced his accomplishment (Augusta National)
As long as McIlroy keeps playing, we’ll keep thinking of new questions to ask him. But he’s already answered the biggest one.
Harrington said the same thing.
“He asked in his press conference, what were we going to talk about next year? Well, we’re going to talk about this year whether he can win the yearly grand slam,” Harrington said. “Now we’re going to talk about whether he can beat Nick Faldo’s record of six majors. We’re going to talk whether he can get to 10 majors. And guess what? We’re going to talk about whether he can get to 15 majors, and then we’re going to talk about whether he can get 18 majors.
“The beauty for Rory is his game is future-proofed. He’s not a guy who gets injured. He’s extremely powerful. So it doesn’t matter all these kids coming out of college who hit it a mile. It doesn’t matter to Rory. He is already the longest. There’s nobody’s going to have an advantage over him there. …
“So the only thing Rory has to mind for the next, you know, 10 years anyway, of good playing golf is that he doesn’t get burnt out.”
In case you’re wondering, scroll below to see who’s already in the 2026 Masters. It’s never too soon to start looking ahead.
Nelly Korda could form a solid gold team with Scottie Scheffler at Riviera in 2028 (Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Olympics mixes it up for L.A. Games
The International Golf Federation confirm the International Olympic Committee approval for the addition of a mixed-team golf event to debut at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.
The mixed team event will be in addition to the men’s and women’s individual golf events that have been staged at the last three Olympics. All three Olympic golf events will be held at Riviera Country Club in 2028.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to see a mixed-team event added to the program for Los Angeles 2028,” said Anthony Scnalon, IGF executive director. “Golf was incredibly successful at Paris 2024, and as we continue building on the momentum from Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, we’re excited to bring even more attention to our sport through this additional format. The athletes were very enthusiastic about their desire to play with their compatriots, and we look forward to watching them compete together in Los Angeles.”
The mixed-team event will be a 36-hole competition staged between the men’s and women’s individual competitions. It will be 18 holes of foursomes (alternate shot) for the first round followed by 18 holes of four-ball (best ball) for the final round. There will be a maximum of one team per country, with teams comprised of one male and one female who are already qualified for the men’s and women’s individual competitions.
The event program and athlete quotas for LA28 were approved by the IOC Executive Board on April 9, with a total of 351 medal events (22 more than at Paris). An extra 698 athletes were added to the core athlete quota of 10,500 to accommodate the five sports proposed by the LA28 Organizing Committee (baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash). With the inclusion of boxing, the LA28 sports program is composed of 31 sports.
Golf is one of six sports to add a mixed-gender competition for LA28, joining archery, athletics (4x100 meter mixed relay), gymnastics, rowing (coastal beach sprint) and table tennis.
2026 Masters Field
Through 2025 Masters
Here’s how the 36 players currently qualified to play in the 2026 Masters got into the field