All 37 Of Rory McIlroy’s Major Results Since His Last Win At The 2014 PGA Championship
The World No.3 has come close to adding a fifth Major on several occasions in the past without success - below is every one of his results since that moment in 2014
Rory McIlroy's Major drought is one of the most-talked about subjects in golf - especially in the build-up to and duration of all four of the biggest championships in the men's game.
Threatening to become a golfing powerhouse who overhauled even the great Jack Nicklaus' collection of Majors early in his career, McIlroy won four in the space of 15 starts between 2011 and 2014 before stumbling on several occasions since. There was also arguably the most famous missed opportunity of all at the 2011 Masters in which he threw away a four-stroke lead on Sunday.
Stuck on four as several of his rivals began their own respective hauls - Brooks Koepka even passing him - McIlroy has found it incredibly difficult to remove the Major monkey from his back.
The World No.3's next Major start after lifting the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla - which was then the final one of the season - arrived the following April at The Masters, kicking off a run of successive top-10s. He finished solo fourth and ended T10, T7, and T5 in the following campaigns. Despite teeing off alongside champion Patrick Reed in the final group during 2018, McIlroy ended up fading away via a 74 as the American landed his only Major to date.
McIlroy's 2015 US Open featured a respectable T9 result, but that was then followed by three consecutive missed cuts at the USGA-led championship. On the other side of the Atlantic, the Northern Irishman ended T5, T4, and T2 at the Open Championship between 2016 and 2018, all without being able to land a glove on the eventual winner.
Over the course of the next five-and-a-half seasons, McIlroy produced 12 top-10s - with 2022 seeing high finishes at all four Majors - and has been runner-up on two separate occasions. Since the end of 2014, his top-10 count stands at 20.
The first of those silver-medal results arrived at the 2022 Masters when McIlroy was able to card a bogey-free 64 - capped by a chip-in on the last out of a bunker - on Sunday which catapulted him up into solo second behind Scottie Scheffler. The second was far more agonizing, failing to reel Wyndham Clark in at the 2023 US Open and eventually missing out on a playoff by just one stroke despite being in contention almost the entire way.
Get the top Black Friday deals right in your inbox: Sign up now!
The hottest deals and product recommendations during deals season straight to your inbox plus all the best game-changing tips, in-depth features and the latest news and insights around the game.
Just months prior, arguably the most difficult miss of the lot had arrived. Having co-led the 150th Open Championship at St Andrew by four shots alongside Viktor Hovland going into Sunday, McIlroy was powerless to prevent third-place Cameron Smith from roaring past him and hoisting the Claret Jug aloft.
Afterwards, the man who eventually finished third said: "I'll be OK. It's not life or death. I'll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win majors. It's one that I feel like I let slip away, but there will be other opportunities. The putter just went a little cold. I just couldn't find the shots."
The stats would suggest that McIlroy's next Major - if it does happen - will occur at the US Open. It's a championship that the 35-year-old has really grown to love in recent seasons, improving on his result every year since 2019. He has gone T9 (2019), T8 (2020), T7 (2021), T5 (2022), and 2 (2023). It does not take a genius to work out what the final number in that pattern should be.
Discussing his relationship with US Opens over the years following a bogey-free first-round 65 which put him joint top alongside Patrick Cantlay in 2024, McIlroy said: "I really don't think I embraced U.S. Open setups probably 10 years into my U.S. Open career.
"Played my first one in '09, and I think I really changed my mindset around them in 2019, that one in Pebble, and then since then I've -- I've also started to enjoy this style of golf a lot more."
Meanwhile, earlier in the week, McIlroy stated he felt he is "as close as I've ever been" to landing Major number five.
He said: "I've been on a pretty good run of US Open performances over the last few years. Obviously had a close call at LACC last year, Wyndham just pipping me to the post there.
"But I feel like I really struggled at US Open setups, 2016, '17, '18 in particular. I sort of had a bit of a I guess come-to-Jesus moment after that, tried to really figure out why that was. Then my performances from 2019 and after that have been really, really good.
"I'm really proud of my body of work over the past 15 years and everything that I have achieved, whether it be season-long titles or individual tournaments or majors. Obviously getting my hands on a fifth major has taken quite a while, but I'm more confident than ever that I'm right there, that I'm as close as I've ever been."
Below is every one of McIlroy's Major results since his last blue-chip victory in 2014.
Header Cell - Column 0 | The Masters | PGA Championship | US Open | Open Championship |
---|---|---|---|---|
2015 | 4 | 17 | T9 | DNP (Injury) |
2016 | T10 | CUT | CUT | T5 |
2017 | T7 | T22 | CUT | T4 |
2018 | T5 | T50 | CUT | T2 |
2019 | T21 | T8 | T9 | CUT |
2020 | T5 | T33 | T8 | NT (Covid) |
2021 | CUT | T49 | T7 | T46 |
2022 | 2 | 8 | T5 | 3 |
2023 | CUT | T7 | 2 | T6 |
2024 | T22 | T12 | ? | ? |
Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, and Lee Westwood. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and is hoping to reach his Handicap goal of 18 at some stage. He attended both the 150th and 151st Open Championships and dreams of attending The Masters one day.
-
Quiz! Can You Name Every Player In The 2023 Ryder Cup?
There were 24 golfers involved. How many members of the two teams can you name?
By Roderick Easdale Published
-
Quiz! Can You Name Every Player In The 2024 Solheim Cup?
There were 24 golfers involved. How many members of the two teams can you name?
By Roderick Easdale Published
-
Rory McIlroy Posts Heartfelt Message To 'Hero' And 'Inspiration' Rafa Nadal Following Tennis Icon's Retirement
The Spanish tennis player has left the game after 22 Grand Slam victories - and four-time Major winner McIlroy joined in with the messages of congratulations
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Rory McIlroy Proves Fierce Loyalty To Caddie With Heartfelt Message In Race To Dubai Victory Speech
Addressing Harry Diamond after winning the Race To Dubai, McIlroy thanked his best friend and called any stick he had received this year "unwarranted"
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Tearful Rory McIlroy Reacts To Seve Ballesteros Comparisons After Equalling Spaniard's Order Of Merit Record
In a highly-emotional interview immediately after holing the winning putt at the DP World Tour Championship, McIlroy was asked about equalling Severiano Ballesteros' European Tour Order of Merit record
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Rory McIlroy Wins DP World Tour Championship To Clinch Double Victory In Dubai
The World No.3 has landed a sixth Race To Dubai title - capped off by a third DP World Tour Championship victory at Jumeirah Golf Estates' Earth Course
By Jonny Leighfield Last updated
-
DP World Tour Championship Tee Times: Round Four
Rory McIlroy and Rasmus Hojgaard are the final pairing as the DP World Tour season concludes at the Jumeirah Golf Estates Earth Course
By Mike Hall Published
-
Scheffler Vs Schauffele Vs McIlroy: How The Stats Compare
Rory McIlroy said Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele have ‘separated themselves’ so we looked at the stats…
By Paul Higham Published
-
Rory McIlroy 'Would Pay For The Privilege' Of Playing In The Ryder Cup
Rory McIlroy can see the argument for players being paid to play in the Ryder Cup, but thinks it would upset the "purity" of the event for the Europeans
By Paul Higham Published
-
Rory McIlroy Admits Lack Of Fifth Major 'Stings' As He Grades 2024 Season
The World No.3 once again credited his own consistency after a year of several near-misses but admitted missing out on a fifth Major championship "stings"
By Jonny Leighfield Published