Rory McIlroy brings a sharper mental focus into the 108th PGA Championship that tees off on Thursday at Aronimink than he had a year ago after a historic Masters triumph.
The 37-year-old from Northern Ireland, who won last year's Masters to complete a career Grand Slam and end a 10-year major win drought, said Tuesday he has managed to rest and reset after defending the green jacket last month at Augusta National.
"Coming into this tournament feels a lot different than what it did last year," McIlroy said. "I've got some nice clear road ahead to try to get some more of these majors."
The six-time major winner could capture his third PGA crown this week, but more importantly has a much better vision of his game than this time last year when after achieving a major milestone struggled to 47th at the PGA at Quail Hollow, his worst major finish since 2021.
"Especially after the last couple of years, I need to take the time after the Masters to reset and decompress and get myself in the right mental space again to get myself up for this tournament and keep going for the US Open and The Open Championship," McIlroy said.
"I came into this tournament last year a little bit sort of uncertain of what my future was – I conquered this thing that I wanted to conquer for so long, and I still hadn't really reset goals or found whatever that motivation was to keep going or go forward and set myself goals for the rest of my career.
"It probably took me a good few months to get to that point."
McIlroy took three weeks off after his latest Masters victory before returning last week at Quail Hollow, where he has won four times.
World No 2 McIlroy, who has a cameo in the new movie "The Devil Wears Prada 2", skipped Doral two weeks ago to attend a White House State Dinner.
"I know how fortunate I am and so lucky to be in this position in life, and sometimes you have to enjoy the perks because I know this isn't going to last forever," McIlroy said.
"There's going to be a day where I'm not competing for major championships, so I guess while I'm doing it, I have to enjoy it, as well.
"It has been amazing but there's still a lot of things I want to achieve. If I can enjoy it along the way that's a nice thing to do."
Rory McIlroy joined Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to successfully defend the Masters in April. Since then, he’s made a Hollywood Cameo and attended a State Dinner at the White House.
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) May 12, 2026
Ahead of the PGA Championship, he was asked how he would… https://t.co/P7YuYeyqXb pic.twitter.com/4hhgSHGX6E
EARLY TRIP PAYS OFF
McIlroy snuck in a practice round at Aronimink during his week off.
"I wanted to do the State dinner, and if I was going to do that, it was probably better I take that week to practice and prepare, come up here and see the golf course," McIlroy said.
It allowed him to relax and arrive at Aronimink on Monday night without being stressed about missing a day of practice.
"I wanted to just get an early look because I knew that was going to be my only opportunity," he said.
"I definitely think courses we don't see very often... it certainly has benefited me over the years."
McIlroy first made an early practice trip for a major in 2011 at Congressional on the advice of Jack Nicklaus and won his first major title at that US Open.
"For the most part, when I have made an advanced trip, it has worked out well for me," McIlroy said.