It’s not every day you hear someone say they weren’t sure they wanted to make the cut at the U.S. Open. But then again, Rory McIlroy has never really followed the script — especially not this year.
Coming off his historic Masters win, completing the career Grand Slam in dramatic fashion, Rory walked into Oakmont for the 2025 U.S. Open carrying the weight of legacy… and, apparently, very low energy.
Golf Channel analyst — and former Ryder Cup captain — Paul McGinley didn’t hold back. “His eyes weren’t alive,” McGinley said in a segment that made its rounds online. “The energy was not there.” He wasn’t just questioning Rory’s swing. He was questioning his spark.
And Rory’s answer? Silence. For two full rounds.
“I feel like I’ve earned the right to do whatever I want to do.”
That’s what McIlroy finally told the press after his third round. It was less of a quote and more of a line drawn in the sand — a not-so-subtle reply to critics questioning his media absence, his energy, his commitment.
The reaction was split. Some saw a man defending his space after years under the spotlight. Others saw a superstar going cold in a moment that demanded heat.
What made this all so strange, so out of character, is that McIlroy had just climbed the highest peak in golf a few weeks prior. He’d done the thing. The thing. The Grand Slam. The elusive green jacket that had haunted him for over a decade.
And according to Rory?
“You don’t know how you’re going to react to something that I’ve dreamt about for a long time.”
Flatline After the Summit
Most of us will never know what it feels like to chase something for 15 years, finally grab it, and then be expected to act like it’s business as usual the next day.
But for Rory McIlroy, that’s exactly what happened. He admitted feeling “a little flat” walking the fairways at Oakmont. And honestly, who wouldn’t?
“Look, I reached my Everest in April,” McIlroy said. “And I think after accomplishing something like that, you have to make your way back down and find another mountain to ascend.”
He wasn’t saying he didn’t care. He was saying he was spent. Emotionally, mentally, maybe even spiritually. The way he described it, the Masters didn’t just empty the tank — it cracked the whole damn frame.
“Do I really want two more days here?”
That was the quiet part he said out loud.
After a rough start in round two, sitting at +8 and facing the cut line, McIlroy admitted his internal monologue was as raw as it gets.
“It’s funny, it’s much easier being on the cut line when you don’t really care if you’re here for the weekend or not.”
That one sentence revealed more than any press conference ever could. It wasn’t just about fatigue. It was about purpose — the sudden lack of it after reaching a lifelong goal.
The guy who used to chew up major Sundays for breakfast was now debating whether he wanted to stay for the weekend.
Final Round Flicker
But then Sunday came. And McIlroy — somehow, somewhere — found a flicker of that old fire.
He shot a 67. Best round of the week by five shots. Led the field in strokes gained off the tee. And left Oakmont with something he hadn’t had in a few days: a sense of direction.
“I definitely found a feeling last week, especially off the tee, that was repeatable,” he said. “That was the most encouraging thing.”
It wasn’t a win. It wasn’t even a top 10. But it was something to hang onto. A starting point.
The Critics, the Comeback, and What’s Next
McIlroy never directly addressed McGinley’s “low energy” remarks. He didn’t need to. His actions — the media silence, the final round surge, the introspective quotes — all spoke louder than any formal rebuttal could.
Still, McGinley wasn’t trying to take Rory down. If anything, his comments came from a place of concern. “Rory goes from first gear to fifth gear in terms of confidence quicker than anybody else,” he said.
And maybe that’s what we’re seeing here: the slow ignition of another McIlroy run. A player who burned so hot at Augusta that he needed time to cool, breathe, reset.
Now, with the Open Championship at Royal Portrush looming, McIlroy seems ready to climb again.
“If I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me.”
After Oakmont, after the Masters, after 15 years chasing history — that might be the next mountain.
“Do I really want two more days here?” — Rory McIlroy