How Rory McIlroy became the 'best of our generation' as PGA Tour success raises hopes for The Masters

Rory McIlroy is the story once more. But he is always the story. He has been the story for the best part of 15 years, whether it be as the hunted or the hunter.

If Sunday wasn’t quite his at The Players then Monday certainly was, as McIlroy swerved another gut-wrenching blown lead to see off JJ Spaun in a thee-hole play-off to win the PGA Tour’s flagship event – six years on from his first victory at TPC Sawgrass.

There remains no let-up in drama with the Northern Irishman, from the awe-inspiring genius and attack-the-flag aggression to the tear-the-hair-out stumbles and title-costing mistakes. But he always comes back. Time and time again.

“I think if you’re as talented as he is, you can go ahead and take some chances every now and again,” said Sky Sports Golf‘s Rich Beem. “Sometimes you might hit the wall and flame out, but sometimes you’re going to go around and you’re going to lap everybody.

“And I think that’s kind of what we saw last year at Quail Hollow [2024 Wells Fargo Championship], right? It was going up against Xander Schauffele going into the final round. All of a sudden he goes on a birdie run and just puts everybody in his rear view mirror.

“That’s what makes him so good and why he can win every year.”

Consistency continues to be key for McIlroy

McIlroy exploded onto the scene in the early years of his professional career and claimed his first DP World Tour title in 2009, before bouncing back from his final-round disappointment at The Masters in 2011 to storm to victory at the US Open later that year.

He would win three more majors over the next three seasons, the PGA Championship twice and The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, with McIlroy adding 21 top-10s in majors over the next decade without adding to his tally.

McIlroy is the only three-time winner of the FedExCup and is now a 28-time winner on the PGA Tour, with the world No 2 almost an ever-present member of the top 10 in the world rankings over the past 15 years.

“Not only his [McIlroy’s] consistency week-to-week, but year after year,” said world No 1 Scottie Scheffler. “I think you got a guy there that’s played really well out here for about 15 years. May even be longer than that, you guys would remember better than me.

“But it’s very impressive, not only his week-to-week but his longevity year after year. He’s doing a few things right to be putting up those kind of numbers [wins].

“Rory has stayed healthy for a long time. He’s played great golf for a long time, and it’s definitely not as easy as you would think it is.”

How ‘unbelievable’ McIlroy keeps impressing

Early-season success brings soaring expectations for McIlroy and a familiar pressure, as he now seeks to end his infamous wait for a first major crown since 2014. Rarely, though, has a tournament come by without McIlroy nestling somewhere in the contending pack.

“I think Rory is an unbelievable talent, a generational talent,” Tommy Fleetwood told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. “I’ve always said and thought, and I continue to do so that I feel like Rory is the best of our generation.

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“He’s putting together a phenomenal career and he’s so far from being done, he’s got a long way to go in his career yet. He has an unbelievable opportunity to put one of the most memorable careers down in history. I think we all feel pretty confident that he is going to continue to do that.

In many ways, he remains the benchmark and a beacon of consistency.

“I think longevity plays a big part in that as well,” Fleetwood added during The Players. “I think he’s been injury-free for the majority of his career, and he’s been one of if not the best player in the world for a very long time. It should never be underestimated how hard that is to do, just continually be there.”

Collin Morikawa added: “Longevity is a huge thing, and not just longevity but consistency, and he’s a model of that.

“I remember when I turned pro in 2019, he was top-fiving, top-tenning every single week, something what we saw Scottie [Scheffler] do the past two years. But to do that over his entire career essentially is incredible. It’s what you strive to do and just continue to keep working hard at it.”

McIlroy remains the youngest player to reach $10m in earnings on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tours, achieving the latter in 2012, while his tied-fifth finish at the Texas Children’s Houston Open last month saw him become just the second player to pass $100m career prize money on the PGA Tour.

Near-misses have become something of a theme to recent years in McIlroy’s career amid his ongoing pursuit of fifth major. He registered four worldwide victories last season, although four runner-up finishes included the ‘toughest day’ as a professional golfer at the US Open.

“What makes him so appealing as a player is that he’s somewhat human in terms of, yeah, he does his brilliance, and then he makes his mistakes,” said Sky Sports Golf’s Paul McGinley. “But we are seeing one thing that’s underestimated is his ability to fight. And if you look at how long he is at the very top of the game.

“You think back to 12, 13 years ago, who at the top of the game is still relevant now? And a lot of players have come and gone. And yet he still keeps churning it out year after year after year, top of those world rankings, winning tournaments.

“Even his bad years, he’s still right up there and performing. And, yes, he comes in and out of form somewhat. He seems to have a little bit more belief, I would say, this year in terms of getting over the line.”

McIlroy has recently voiced his admiration for Scheffler, in particular the long-reigning world No 1’s success-driving ability to compartmentalise his fierce dedication to honing his craft alongside switching off once he leaves the course

While placing a focus on Scheffler, it served as the latest reminder of McIlroy’s own unwavering hunger to continue pushing his own limits as he seeks to conquer the golfing world once more. Those two are the favourites heading into The Masters, where Grand Slam chatter is higher than ever.

When is The Masters live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports Golf will be showing record hours of live coverage from the 2025 contest, where Scheffler returns as defending champion, including more action over the final two rounds than previous years.

Wall-to-wall coverage from the tournament begins at 2pm on Thursday, with Featured Group action and regular updates from around the course available to enjoy on Sky Sports Golf until the global broadcast window begins at 8pm.

The same timings will apply on Friday, while a new addition to this year’s coverage sees a Masters build-up show live from 3pm over the weekend ahead of full coverage starting at 5pm, covering all the action until after the close of play.

On Sky +, Sky Q and Sky Glass there will be lots of extra action via the red button on the Sky Sports Golf channel, providing plenty of bonus feeds and allowing you to follow players’ progress through various parts of Augusta’s famous layout.

Who will win The Masters? Watch from April 10-13 live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins with Featured Groups on Thursday April 10, from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.