Though the arc lights are turned up to full for his re-entry into the golfing atmosphere, the scrutiny is shared once the action starts, which is perfect for a golfer whose fifth major victory at Augusta a fortnight ago provided the game with its most important story since Tiger Woods won a fifth green jacket six years ago.
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Rory McIlroy's Masters victory was an exorcism of sporting trauma
Read MoreThe winner of the Masters is thus always saddled with the calendar slam narrative until he inevitably burns out at the next major, in this case the PGA. Except this is Rory McIlroy, whose star power is such, the theory that he might engage an even higher gear and obliterate the field following his Masters liberation is already currency.
“He has all the tools. I’ve played against him when he’s firing on all cylinders and it’s not fun for me. It’s fun for everyone else to watch but it’s hard to beat. Would I be surprised if he started rattling [more majors] off? No. Am I going to be there to try and stop him? Absolutely.”
With the career Grand Slam sealed, McIlroy will be chasing more history (Photo: Getty)
At 35 McIlroy is not yet at his peak, and bolstered by the Masters experience, the sense is emerging of a golfer who might yet double his major tally. After the PGA at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy won for the fourth time in May last year, eviscerating Schauffele down the stretch, the major stage shifts to the US Open at Oakmont and after that to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland for The Open.
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The BBC is the only thing that can stop Rory McIlroy winning Sports Personality
Read MoreThe esteem in which he is held by his contemporaries speaks for itself. As good as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler is, he does not have the appeal beyond the game’s borders that McIlroy enjoys, nor is he the economic engine that McIlroy has become for the sport he plays. When McIlroy wins he takes the whole of golf with him, which explains the scale of the reaction to his victory at Augusta.
The R&A’s new chief executive Mark Darbon acknowledges the added frisson born of the connection between the Masters champion and the location of the 153rd Championship. “I think it’s brilliant for the sport of golf, not just our own Championship,” Darbon said. “It was an amazing, emotional win. We’re delighted to see Rory etch his name in the history books.
“I think you’re always thinking through how you manage the crowd effectively, how do you get the experience right for spectators and other groups that we look after at one of these big events. It’s one of the biggest and best sporting events in the world, and so we spend a lot of time in planning.”
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