Rory McIlroy says he’s refreshed, motivated and ready for a major championship push as he returns at Quail Hollow before the PGA Championship.
Rory McIlroy is back, and he doesn’t sound like a player ready to coast.
The world’s No. 2-ranked golfer returns this week at the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow, his first start since winning a second straight Masters title.
McIlroy, now a six-time major champion, enters a massive stretch that includes next week’s PGA Championship outside Philadelphia and next month’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills.
“I’m excited for the road ahead,” McIlroy said after his Wednesday pro-am round.
McIlroy took more than three weeks away from competition after slipping on another green jacket, but he made it clear the break wasn’t about losing edge. It was about getting reset.
He stayed mostly at home in Jupiter, Florida, spent time with wife Erica Stoll and daughter Poppy, and avoided the usual post-Masters media blitz.
“I gave myself a good 10 days to enjoy myself,” McIlroy said, “and then thought I needed to get back on the range.”
That’s the part that should get everyone’s attention. McIlroy said he feels “more motivated” than ever, which is a pretty strong statement from a player who has already completed the career Grand Slam and is still stacking legacy moments.
Quail Hollow is the perfect place for him to restart. McIlroy won his first PGA TOUR event there 16 years ago, and he’s won four times at the Charlotte course.
His 2015 victory remains one of his signature performances, a seven-shot runaway that included a third-round 61 and a tournament-record 21-under 267.
“I really feel like this tournament got my career going,” McIlroy said. “It’s somewhere I always love coming back to.”
He’s also the favorite this week at +600, ahead of Cameron Young at +850 after Young’s win last week at Doral. McIlroy won the 2024 Truist Championship at Quail Hollow by five shots over Xander Schauffele, though he struggled at the 2025 PGA Championship on the same course, finishing tied for 47th.
McIlroy expects a different test this time, with firm greens, lighter rough and conditions closer to 2024.
Schauffele knows the danger.
“His best club was his worst club, and he still won the tournament,” Schauffele said of McIlroy’s Masters win. “That’s a little scary.”
For McIlroy, this isn’t a victory lap. It’s a launch point.
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