Where Does Rory McIlroy Go From Here?

Most of the attention that came from Rory McIlroy’s Wednesday presser at the RBC Canadian Open stemmed from his comments about his driver situation at the PGA Championship and ducking the media. That’s great and all, but something else from the Career Grand Slam champion caught my eye.

“I don't know if I'm chasing anything,” he said. “I would certainly say that the last few weeks I've had a couple weeks off, and going and grinding on the range for three or four hours every day is maybe a little tougher than it used to be. You have this event in your life that you've worked towards and it happens, sometimes it's hard to find the motivation to get back on the horse and go again.”

As a proud member of the McIlroy Fan Club myself, this thought did cross my mind in the weeks following his win at Augusta. What was he going to play for now? Would he put his game and career in neutral, or would he pick a number of majors to get to before the clubs find a permanent resident in his garage?

“I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset,” he said, “just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play. Yeah, reset some goals.”

RBC Canadian Open: How to Watch, Tee Times

McIlroy's appearance at TPC Toronto is his first since the PGA Championship, a week that didn’t exactly go to plan. He’s made it a habit of bringing Quail Hollow to its knees, but a nonconforming driver diagnosis and some weird schedule adjustments thanks to the weather made for a “bit of a weird week,” in his own words.

But with the U.S. Open and another opportunity to add a major championship to his resume on the horizon, McIlroy needs to find something to chase, something worth grinding for.

A golfer with unclear goals sounds like a mess waiting to happen. As the great Bobby Jones said, golf is a game played between the ears. If the mind is void of drive and motivation, narrowing the focus is next to impossible. These guys need something to strive for, something to achieve. Otherwise, why put the tee in the ground at all?

Finding a chip for his shoulder shouldn't be too difficult next week in Pittsburgh after what unfolded a year ago at Pinehurst No. 2. He had one hand on the trophy until a couple short misses with the putter gift-wrapped the championship for Bryson DeChambeau. I'm sure that will give him the kick in the ass he needs at Oakmont.

But after that, who knows?

Time will tell how he responds to accomplishing the goal he chased for more than a decade, but for Rory to reach the historical level we all know he's capable of, he needs to rediscover the competitive fire.