Why a Hall of Famer Believes It Will ‘Be Tough’ for Rory McIlroy to Win Another Major

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Nick Faldo said, “There was so much emotion at Augusta, and you cannot reproduce the emotion to win a major like that again.”

Nick Faldo believes it'll be "tough" for Rory McIlroy to win another major. | Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Rory McIlroy ended an 11-year major championship winless drought at the Masters this year. Now, will the floodgates open?

Nick Faldo doesn’t think so. 

“It is like climbing Everest,” Faldo, a six-time major champion, told the Belfast Telegraph, “you don’t turn around and say ‘let’s go up again next month.’ There was so much emotion at Augusta, and you cannot reproduce the emotion to win a major like that again, so I think it will be tough for Rory to win another one.”

McIlroy, of course, completed the career Grand Slam in April at Augusta National, a feat 11 years in the making. Afterward, however, McIlroy admitted he struggled to find motivation. 

“Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next,” McIlroy said at June’s U.S. Open. “I think I’ve always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it and you want to sort of relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal.”

Still only 36 years old, McIlroy will have many more opportunities to claim another major. 

But regardless of how many victories McIlroy finishes his career with, it’s one of the greatest in golf’s history. And there can be different perspectives on his accolades.  

“[Rory]’s either going to be disappointed that he’s won 10 or he is going to be ecstatic that he’s got to five,” said Faldo, who won three green jackets.