As Rory McIlroy's major drought reaches 10 years, one big question remains

ETROON, Scotland – Rory McIlroy is on vacation now. Somewhere in Europe, for sure. Tuscany, maybe. Portugal, maybe. His mind got there before his body did – the thought of relaxation seeped in as he made a bogey on the 4th at Royal Troon, the 22nd hole of the Open Championship. Time to go somewhere warm.

It won't be a long vacation. Unlike other sports, golf always offers another place to play it. The Olympic competition starts in 10 days. McIlroy will be there, wearing Irish green.

That's his thing, right? Strength, to use his chosen name. Or just, to continue. No matter how many short putts he misses, no matter how many majors slip out of his hands, McIlroy always comes back. (What else is there to do?) And when he comes back, he usually wins. Atlanta in August and Dubai in January and Charlotte in May. Even New Orleans in April. Everywhere except where he wants to win the most. It should make you angry.

It has now been a clean 10 years since McIlroy lifted a major championship trophy, and by the time he gets another chance, it will have been 10 years and eight months. Surely that amount will come to his mind when he is on vacation. How many FedEx Cups can one win without asking too much? How many races to Dubai? How many weeks was he ranked in the top 4 before him you win one of the top four?

We are five months away from 2024 but your mind goes straight to the big hosts of 2025. Augusta, Quail Hollow, Oakmont and Portrush. First, his bugaboo. Second, his second home. Third, eh, I wish you luck. The fourth, his the original at home. All are different tests and all topics for another day. The question everyone wants to think about right now is simple: What do they need to do differently? Here's the best thing: What it can be do you do differently?

McIlroy is surrounded by a bunch of talented, hard-working people, all trying to bring out the best in him. He has a great caddy that puts him at ease. That is important and immeasurable. He has the ear of Dr. Bob Rotella, a prominent sports psychologist. He talks occasionally to Butch Harmon, arguably the best golf coach in the world. One of the best putters in PGA Tour history, Brad Faxon, is often beaten by McIlroy. Michael Bannon – who has coached McIlroy's swing since his youth – has been by his side for the past two weeks. Tiger Woods shares insight whenever Rory asks. Michael Jordan and Rafa Nadal send condolences and advice. That may not be much use when the wind is blowing 30 mph in your face, but it does mean something. People respect McIlroy, and desperately so search to choose a mountain.

McIlroy also tried to fill the cracks in the foundation by reading different books before major courses, using different strategies, committing to different methods. He tries to stay in his “cocoon” more than before, keeping a small window of focus. He's not sitting down to dinner at Pinehurst Village during the US Open. He doesn't sign autographs after every round, or post pictures before a round. Opponents will roll their eyes, but he has improved, recording eight top 10 finishes in his last 12 majors. That is one of the pillars of frustration, both for him and for us. He is always good, leaning towards good, but he does not start. Sometimes it takes nine holes to see it, sometimes 45, this week just 22. In St. Andrews, LACC and Pinehurst, it took a full 72. That's 2022, 2023 and 2024 rolled up for him. It feels like a far cry from 2011, 2012 and the big double magic of 2014.

McIlroy responded to his fall at Pinehurst by walking the High Line, on the west side of Manhattan, several times. Met a good friend for coffee. He called Rotella to talk for an hour. He then changed his phone number, hoping to put some distance between himself and the sympathetic media in an instant. That's what Sisyphus would do if Sisyphus was real and reached the 10 year mark. He was resetting. Open the page. Take a pumpkin. Then you go again. McIlroy came back and beat 146 other pros at the Scottish Open, losing to only three.

There is a backup feature that helps you get everything done. The questions at the Open mirrored those he heard last week, at the Scottish Open. Where is your head space? How did you process it all? How will you do it differently in the future? Similar questions will await him at the Masters in the spring. But few players seem to draw as much of a treat from their media visits as McIlroy does. It was on Friday afternoon in Scotland, just one week before that dangerous snowman, that McIlroy stood with reporters and appeared to be pondering his future in real time.

“I think sometimes I need to step back and appreciate what I've done in my career and in my life, and enjoy my success,” she said. “I am not very happy with my success. I haven't, I'd say, in the last five years – I haven't been on vacation in the last four or five years. So I'm thinking of going back again to enjoy I'm a little far from my game, and my work, it's the most important thing. “

The reporter asked him when was the last time he went on vacation.

“Ohhhh.”

McIlroy took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair.

“I mean appropriate a holiday? Um…”

He was silent for a while.

“I don't even remember. It's been a while.”

Maybe that's why the idea crossed his mind after he penciled an 8 on his scorecard at the Open. This year's big trip is over. It could be time for a trip. Golf sometimes consumed everything in his life, he told us in Scotland. He had to have a purpose to cut through it. Naturally, we asked him how he does it.

“For someone who travels a lot, I like to travel,” he said. “I like to see new places. Like I said, I'm going up to New York there for three days after Pinehurst – I enjoy those things. I enjoy eating in new restaurants, I enjoy going to vineyards, tasting new wines. I'm a little bit, you know, I think I'm a foodie.

“I enjoy seeing new parts of the world. I wouldn't say I have a lot of hobbies. I was talking about trying to go to the mountains in the new year, and trying to get Poppy in the ski collection – I don't think I'll get on the ski set. But yeah, you're just trying to do new things and see new places. It's a big world out there and I'd like to see more of it.”

He can't go far though. His to-do list won't let him. Paris is expensive.