Rory McIlroy’s Major Drought Measured in Golf Years

Sunday at Valhalla will bring back memories for Rory McIlroy. But it won’t exactly be deja vu. Ten years ago, the Ulsterman entered as the favorite to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy. McIlroy took charge early, firing 66-67-67 until Saturday. Then 25-year-old and recently crowned world no. 1, Rory McIlroy, fired 68 to beat Phil Mickelson by one stroke. The Northern Irishman also became the first golfer since Tiger Woods to win four majors before turning 25. 

Ten years later, the leaderboard is packed. 13 players are within one shot of the lead shared by Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. In these ten years, McIlroy has added 17 more pieces of silverware to his trophy cabinet. None of them were majors. The Ulsterman has had ten top-five finishes since then, including three runner-ups. Ten years feels like a long wait, and it is still longer if we consider what has happened in golf (and other sports) since McIlroy last tasted a major victory. 

Scottie Scheffler was in high school

Scottie Scheffler has won four times in his last five starts. Where was the current world No. 1 in 2014? Scheffler was a dreamy-eyed 17-year-old high school student at Highland Park High School. The two-time Major champion made his PGA Tour debut that year at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in 2014, a couple of months before the PGA Championship. He tied for the 22nd spot. Scheffler outlasted McIlroy in the 2022 Masters, denying his chance for a career grand slam.

Jordan Spieth was yet to win his first major

Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy have been stuck in the same loophole for quite a while. Both, at the cusp of a career grand slam, have irrationally prolonged the coronation into the hallowed group. Spieth missed the cut at Valhalla the year McIlroy won his second. The 30-year-old won two back-to-back majors in 2015.

Justin Thomas was playing on the Korn Ferry Tour

Justin Thomas, who has two PGA Championships now, was plying his trade at the Korn Ferry Tour. Thomas had attended both the 2000 PGA Championship and the 2008 Ryder Cup in Valhalla but missed the 2014 one due to his KFT commitments. The ‘Hometown Hero’ is now just two majors shy of matching Ulsterman’s tally.

Xander Schauffele was still in college

Schauffele broke the course record for the lowest round at Valhalla, carding a bogey-free 9-under 62. This was the only fourth 62 at a major, and Xander Schauffele has his name associated with two of them. The seven-time PGA Tour winner, in 2014, was still playing collegiate golf for San Diego State University. The former Aztecs had six top-five finishes, including two runner-up finishes. He is also an Olympic gold medalist now, along with seven PGA Tour titles.

Jon Rahm was at Arizona State University

Jon Rahm was breaking and making records at Arizona State University when Rory McIlroy blistered Valhalla ten years ago. Rahm still holds the lowest 54-hole record at ASU, a 21-under 192 and a 15-under 195. The first of which came at ASU Thunderbird International, which he won. A year later, Rahm tied for fifth at the 2015 WM Phoenix Open. The Spaniard has two majors now.

Brooks Koepka was relatively unknown

While McIlroy established his star status on the PGA Tour, Brooks Koepka was still struggling to be a regular contender at PGA Tour events. The 33-year-old was still alternating his playing days between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. His first victory came at the 2015 WM Phoenix Open. Another two years passed before his first Major win at the 2017 US Open. Koepka has added four more majors to his tally since then. 

Anthony Kim was two years into his mysterious hiatus

Before 2012, Kim and McIlroy were the two hottest prospects at the PGA Tour,  However, the three-time PGA Tour winner went MIA after his withdrawal from the 2012 Wells Fargo Championship, where the Ulsterman tied for the second spot. The 38-year-old was yet to give his only interview amid the decade-long absence. 

Interestingly, in 2019, Rory McIlroy talked about Anthony Kim, “The tour was a better place with him in it. He was exciting. I remember quite a lot about that round [at the 2009 Masters]. You’re trying to focus on what you’re doing but you can’t help but notice this guy’s going on a bit of a run. That was something that was pretty cool.” The veteran has now returned to the greens at LIV Golf. 

Tiger Woods won another major meanwhile 

Tiger Woods shot two consecutive 74s to miss the cut by five shots in the 2014 PGA Championship. The 48-year-old went through a back surgery in December 2016 and was absent for over a year. Woods, however, came back to the winner’s circle at the 2018 Tour Championship. Six months, later the 15-time Major champion added his fifth green jacket after a late charge at Augusta, something that was almost improbable in 2014.

Phil Mickelson became the oldest Major winner

Phil Mickelson was the runner-up in the 2014 PGA Championship. Since leaving Kentucky, the 45-time PGA Tour winner had two more close calls in the 2015 Masters and 2016 Open Championship. That was also the only two times, Lefty was within the top 10 between the 2014 and 2021 PGA Championships. At Kiawah Island, Mickelson defied all odds, shooting a final round 73 to outmatch Brooks Koepka for the sixth major of his career. 

On the women’s golf, Annika Sorenstam won another major

Annika Sorenstam was well settled into her retired life in 2014. A return to the greens wasn’t on the cards. But the Norwegian phenom broke her retirement at the 2021 U.S. Senior Women’s Open. Old habits die hard. Sorenstam had ten majors among her 72 LPGA Tour victories. On her debut at the Senior Open, the former world no. 1 won by eight shots, adding one more silverware to her loaded trophy cabinet.

Michelle Wie West thought of retirement, backed off, and then retired

Michelle Wie West thought of retiring in 2019, feeling her body couldn’t take the competitive pressure anymore. Then she got to know that she was pregnant. Makenna’s daughter was born in 2020, and that changed a few things. West wanted to play for her daughter and wanted her to show what golf means to her. So West put a hold on her retirement plans, extending her career to a few more years. The former US Women’s Open champion, though, retired after the 2023 US Women’s Open. 

Nelly Korda played her second major as an amateur in 2014

Like Scheffler, the No. 1 golfer on the female circuit was still in obscurity in 2014. The Rolex No. 1 missed the cut at the 2014 Kraft Nabisco Championship and again at the 2015 ANA Inspiration. It would take her another four years to register her first LPGA Tour victory. Nelly Korda is now an Olympic gold medalist, with two majors and 12 LPGA Tour victories. She also holds the record for five consecutive victories, along with Annika Sorenstam and Nancy Lopez.

In other news, Tom Brady won four Super Bowls, retired, unretired, and retired again

Tom Brady announced his retirement on February 1, 2022. 40 days later, Brady announced, “These past two months, I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands.” Brady returned with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for a one-year stint. The 46-year-old announced his retirement ‘for good’ this time last February. However, last February, Brady retired with seven Super Bowls, four of which came after 2014. 

Chicago Cubs broker their 108-year curse

The Chicago Cubs won their first World Series title since 1908 after beating the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in a rain-delayed game. The Billy Goat Curse was finally broken in 2016. Apparently, a Chicago pub owner was denied entry into the Cubs game against the Detroit Tigers in 1945. The disgruntled owner cursed the club, saying they wouldn’t win another World Series ever. It almost looked unbreakable until 2016. 

Of course, LIV Golf wasn’t still in the pictures in 2014. Now, the landscape of golf has changed, perhaps irrevocably. Rory McIlroy has found himself in the thick of it all since 2022. However, the 35-year-old now strikes a more reconciliatory tone. A lot is about to change in his personal life as well. Notably, McIlroy was dating Erica Stoll in 2014; the two got married in 2017. The 26-time PGA Tour winner came to Valhalla just a day after filing for divorce.