After completing his career Grand Slam earlier this year, Rory McIlroy has very little left to win in an already incredible career. However, golf analyst Kevin van Valkenburg outlined a victory that could further enrich his legacy.

McIlroy is a symbol of longevity. Having turned pro in 2007, the Irishman has a total of 30 PGA Tour titles to his name, including six majors. But Valkenburg pointed out a specific major win in 2026 that would mean a lot to the World No. 2. 

“I think it would be to win a US Open or an Open Championship on a tough, hard conditioned course. I think you know, he knows that he kind of got away with a rare US Open Congressional where it was soft and he could sort of tear it up.

"I think it would really mean a lot to him to win a US Open where it was, you know, plus +2 or three under was kind of the winning score,” said Valkenburg on the 5 Clubs show.

The 2011 U.S. Open was McIlroy’s first major title. It has remained his only U.S. Open title as well.

At the Congressional Country Club, the conditions suited McIlroy’s approach as he broke the U.S. Open scoring record with a total 72-hole score of 16-under par 268.

As a result, the Irishman secured a massive eight-stroke victory over Australia's Jason Day. However, Valkenburg feels a hard-fought win would add further glory to McIlroy’s illustrious career. 

“And overall he has raised his floor tremendously and I think just mentally it would mean so much to him to prove like I know I can grind out a really difficult major and put that on my shelf,” added Valkenburg.

Similarly, at the 2014 Open Championship, McIlroy secured a comfortable victory, winning the title wire-to-wire. 

Thus, a difficult major win at the US Open or The Open Championship is a missing piece in McIlroy’s trophy cabinet. Valkenburg's words clearly hint that his next win would need more resilience than the sheer power he holds.

That said, it doesn't mean McIlroy hasn't seen his share of struggles.

At the 2014 PGA Championship, McIlroy had to battle hard from the back on the final day at Valhalla. After his win, he had said how the win was "different" from his previous wins and that he had "showed a lot of guts" to get it done.

Ahead of this week’s U.S Open, the Irishman revealed the aspect of his game that he has been struggling with.

McIlroy reveals his weak point ahead of the U.S. Open

McIlroy was desperately seeking a win at the Memorial Tournament. However, he fell short and instead came away with a crucial observation about his game.

“Two steps forward, one step back,” McIlroy said about his performance at Muirfield. “Off the tee still wasn’t where I want it to be. Thankfully, the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here. But, yeah, still need to work on that. I need to work on how I’m hitting it off the tee.”

Although McIlroy led the driving distance statistics at the Memorial Tournament, he hit just 30 of 56 fairways during the week. The Irishman found 54% of the fairways.

As a result, he finished tied 38th in the field for driving accuracy and ended up finishing eight shots behind the winner, JT Poston, at 4 under.

At the U.S. Open, McIlroy will look to improve upon his driving game and secure his second major of the season.

Do you agree with Valkenburg’s arguments? Let us know your opinions in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason