CALENDON, Ont. — Off the back of his monumental win at the Masters in April, Rory McIlroy is resetting his focus coming into the second half of the PGA season.
Completing the Grand Slam was a challenge McIlroy had been faced with for over 10 years and became the topic of conversation any time he returned to Augusta.
But after finally getting his hands on the green jacket and putting that story behind him, McIlroy has his sights set on new aspirations coming into the rest of 2025.
Having won the Canadian Open in 2019 and 2022, he looks to join the prestigious list of players who have won it on more than two occasions along with Lee Trevino (3), Tommy Armour (3), Sam Snead (3), and Leo Diegel (4), while also preparing for next week’s US Open.
Both national Opens seem to be a priority for McIlroy this year, who looks to have a dominant performance at any and all of the upcoming national tour events.
“I haven’t hidden my sort of aspirations for national Opens and where I would like them to be, what their standing is in the professional game of golf. So this has meant a lot,” he said, at a morning press conference at TPC Toronto Osprey Valley on Wednesday.
“I’d love to get myself in the mix at the weekend and have an opportunity to do that would be the perfect way to sort of end the week and with one eye going towards the U.S. Open. It would be a great way to go in there”, he said.
This shift in focus has come about after two weeks of rest from the links, where Rory has prioritized training and staying positive amidst all the pressure that comes with the sport.
Asked about how he stays away from negative thoughts, he praised his dad.
“If anyone knows my father, he’s the most positive person in the world. He could find a silver lining at a funeral probably,” said the Northern Ireland native. “It’s the way I was brought up. It’s how I perform my best.
“It’s hard to do that when you’re making bogeys and not hitting it the way you want to, but it’s a lot better than being stuck in an office. There’s a lot of ways to see the positives out there.”
McIlroy tees off for the opening round on Thursday at 7:40 a.m. alongside Ludvig Åberg and Luke Clatton, the latter making his PGA Tour debut.
