Can Rory McIlroy Break His Major Drought in 2025?

Rory McIlroy needs a little introduction. The Holywood-born golfer is arguably Northern Ireland’s most accomplished sporting star of the 21^st century. If his career were to end tomorrow, he would go down as one of golf’s modern greats. Indeed, he has broadly taken over from Tiger Woods as the face of the sport over the last ten to fifteen years. He’s had ups and downs, but no player has stayed as consistently near the top of the world rankings as McIlroy in that time. 

Yet, there is an interesting paradox in how McIlroy is perceived. The Northern Irishman is almost pitied – or at least viewed as incredibly unlucky – due to his failure to add to his tally of four Majors. McIlroy last tasted Major glory in 2014, winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club. Eleven long years have passed, and with over 40 attempts since, McIlroy has not added to that total. 

McIlroy’s form has been excellent.

As mentioned, looking at it from a broader perspective should not be viewed as a problem. Many great players will never match McIlroy’s tally of four Majors (some great players have not even won one), but there is a sense that McIlroy’s talent deserves more. This perception has been reinforced by the fact he had some bad luck at that time, going agonizingly close to winning Majors, including last year’s US Open. 

McIlroy would love the drought to end at Augusta. He is the second favorite in the 2025 Masters odds, something that befits his OWGR ranking of no.2 in the world. His form has been immaculate, too, winning the Players’ Championship last month to stand him in good stead going into 2025’s Majors. 

McIlroy is calm about his Major drought.

Many articles have been written posing whether McIlroy can win one of the big ones in 2025. They tend to appear every year. It’s a pointless exercise. The answer is simple: he certainly can. He remains one of the best players in the world, and there is a solid argument that he can play himself into the kind of form where he becomes the best bar none. 

Yet, a more pertinent question is whether it should matter if he doesn’t. As we said, McIlroy has had a career thus far that most professional golfers would give anything for. You can add numerous other accolades, including long periods as world number one, on top of the four Majors he has already won. However, with McIlroy, there is a perception of underachievement present in the narrative of the sports media. It feels a little unfair. 

Form is the key for McIlroy.

As for the man himself, he is pretty sanguine about it all. Last year, he had a healthy lead in the US Open going down the back nine. He did not choke, as such, but Bryson DeChambeau eventually overhauled him. The nature of the defeat added to the perception that McIlroy had cost himself significant victories in the past. This is arguably unfair and certainly not how McIlroy sees it. 

The Holywood man cuts a calm figure now on the golf circuit. You can see he enjoys his role as an elder statesman for the game despite only being 35. He would love to end the drought sooner rather than later, yet he keeps things in perspective. He knows that his form – and it has been undeniably excellent – will give him opportunities to win a fifth Major. His legions of fans at home and abroad hope he takes one of those opportunities soon.