Golf legend Sir Nick Faldo has delivered a sobering assessment of Rory McIlroy's prospects for further major championship glory, despite the Northern Irishman finally completing the career Grand Slam earlier this year.
The Everest Has Been Scaled
McIlroy's long-awaited victory at The Masters in April 2025 was a monumental achievement. On his 17th attempt at Augusta National, he defeated Justin Rose in a playoff, sinking a crucial three-foot putt to claim the coveted green jacket. This win added to his earlier 2025 successes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Players Championship, marking a spectacular start to the season.
However, Faldo believes that the very scale of that accomplishment at Augusta could now be the biggest obstacle to McIlroy adding to his five major titles. "It is like climbing Everest," Faldo 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."
A Dip in Form Post-Augusta
Faldo's doubts are underpinned by McIlroy's performances in the majors that followed his Masters triumph. His form notably dipped with a T47 finish at the PGA Championship and a T19 at the U.S. Open. Although he improved to finish tied for seventh at The Open Championship in July, it was a level below the golf that secured him the green jacket.
McIlroy himself has acknowledged the challenge of finding motivation after such a significant career goal was achieved. "I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you've just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it," he admitted after the U.S. Open.
Contrast with Scheffler's Momentum
In a telling comparison, Faldo has thrown his support behind world number one Scottie Scheffler to maintain his dominant form into 2026. He praised Scheffler's winning mentality, contrasting it with the challenge he believes McIlroy now faces. "Scottie's in that lovely mindset and routine of going to every tournament thinking 'how do I find a way to win this?'" Faldo said.
Despite the major championship struggles, McIlroy's year was far from barren. He won the Amgen Irish Open, played a pivotal role in Team Europe's Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black, and secured the 2025 Race to Dubai title. Yet, as the golf world looks ahead to 2026, the question posed by Faldo's grim verdict will loom large: can Rory McIlroy conquer a new mountain after finally reaching his Everest?
