Rory McIlroy ready to make run at fifth Truist Championship title

Funny enough, the last two times that Rory McIlroy has won the Truist Championship, he didn’t get to defend on the same golf course from the year prior.

He won it in 2021, but Quail Hollow Club was not available in 2022 as it was preparing to host the Presidents Cup. And then this year, after his incredible five-shot win in 2024, the Charlotte gem is set to host the PGA Championship next week.

Despite McIlroy admitting it “doesn’t quite feel” like a title defense, he’s always happy to have that descriptor tied to his name. And after his Masters triumph in April, a little downtime, and a return to action alongside Shane Lowry at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, McIlroy is keen to be getting back to work.

“Good to be here. First week, I guess, as an individual coming back and playing over the last few weeks. I'm excited to get back to being a golfer,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy won this event for the fourth time in his career last year – no other golfer has won it more than twice – after overcoming a two-shot deficit heading into the finale, topping Xander Schauffele by five. McIlroy closed with a 6-under 65, despite making a double bogey on the par-5 18th. It was his second victory in a row, having won the Zurich Classic alongside Lowry two weeks prior.

McIlroy has gotten off to the best kind of start on the PGA TOUR so far in 2025, having two other victories – including THE PLAYERS Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am – to go along with his green jacket victory. His win at Augusta National had been a long time coming, with plenty of pressure and the big question of, well, “Is this ever going to happen?” finally getting answered.

“I always had hope. I always felt like I had the game (to win the Masters). And like I think, as everyone saw on that back nine on Sunday, it was about getting over – I don't know what the right phrase is – but defeating my own mind was sort of the big thing for me and getting over that hurdle,” McIlroy said. “I'm just glad that it's done. I don't want to ever have to go back to that Sunday afternoon again.

“I'm glad that I finished the way I did, and we can all move on with our lives.”

McIlroy said he did have a nice celebration across the pond with his family including wife Erica and daughter Poppy, where they first visited their house they were building in London. It was amazing, too, to go home to Northern Ireland and see his parents. He never gets emotional with his father, he admitted, until that first visit. And then he and his mother were “both a mess,” at least for a few minutes.

“Look, as an only child, I have a bond,” McIlroy said. “I'm lucky, and I know a lot of people feel this, that they have a close bond with their parents, but I think as time goes on and I'm getting a little older, I realize that they're not going to be around forever. It means even more that they were still around to be able to see me complete the slam and fulfill those dreams.”

As far as this week is concerned, McIlroy said he’ll lean on his driver as the tip of the spear for his gameplan this week. McIlroy is first on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and second in SG: Total. He’s third in driving distance. Every bunker at Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course, McIlroy said, seems to be a 300 to 310-yard carry and, he said, it’s basically “open season” with the driver.

“You can send it,” McIlroy said. “I go back to Oak Hill a couple years ago at the (PGA Championship), and I tried to play the golf course strategically over the first couple of days, and I just realized that these new renovated old school courses, like the strategy is just hit driver everywhere and then figure it out from there. That's sort of the strategy of this place this week.”

This week will also act as a warm-up for McIlroy to head to Quail Hollow for next week’s second major of the year. He said, having not just completed the career grand slam but also breaking his major-championship winless drought, he is going to feel “comfortable and a lot less pressure” especially since he’s going back to a venue he loves.

“It's nothing but positive vibes going in there next week with what happened a few weeks ago and then with my history there and how well I've played at (Quail Hollow),” McIlroy said. “I probably won't be quite as on edge as I have been for the last few years when I've been at major championships.”

There are plenty of new things for this week’s tournament, however, but McIlroy is eager to get back to what he does best.

“It's nice to get back into the routine again,” McIlroy said, “and get back to what I know how to do.”