Rory McIlroy's Masters reaction brought up as Jordan Spieth distances himself

Jordan Spieth admits Rory McIlroy's reaction to completing a career Grand Slam was unique as he bids to emulate this feat at the PGA Championship. Spieth has won every other major except for the USPGA.

In 2025, McIlroy banished his demons at the Masters, defeating Justin Rose in a tense play-off to finally be handed a green jacket after years of near misses. The Northern Irishman achieved seven top-10 finishes before his victory and infamously let a four-shot final round lead slip in 2011. This year, he became only the fourth golfer ever to go back-to-back at Augusta National, winning the title again. McIlroy's emotional outburst after he finally got over the line last year was telling, but Spieth claims he wouldn't react similarly were he to achieve the Grand Slam in Pennsylvania, as his situation differs.

Spieth was an unstoppable force on the PGA Tour between 2015 and 2017, winning the Masters, the US Open and The Open as he cemented his status as World No. 1. It was during this pomp that Spieth came within three strokes of winning the PGA Championship in 2015. His -17 finish would've been enough to win the previous eight renewals of the event.

But Jason Day on -20 denied him the crown. Since then, Spieth has only cracked the USPGA's top five once and it is that lack of close calls he feels differentiates his Grand Slam bid from McIlroy's. He said: "My situation was certainly different than his [McIlroy's] at Augusta. I think that was unique to him.

"You probably didn't see that kind of reaction with the six guys that have ever done it [won all four majors]. I don't have video proof of when they won, so you'd have to fact-check me big time on that one. But Rory's was obviously a very unique final round and his history of having led there and stuff like that, so I don't think it would feel similar.

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"For me, I went on a run of feeling like I was contending or having a good chance of contending at every major for a number of years. Then it was periodic and I feel like I'm close to being able to go back to doing that again. So I just want to give myself a chance."

McIlroy has only just returned to action after he retained his Masters title in April. This year's USPGA will be staged at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square and the 37-year-old visited the course for a one-day reconnaissance mission.

He said: "We played the BMW [Championship] there in 2018, but the course played a lot differently. It was wet in 2018 and the greens didn't play as fast or as severe as what I felt like they played last week when I played. So it's not a long golf course, but the big defense is the greens and they can tuck the pins away if they want to. But yeah it was nice to get an early look at it.

"It just means that the week of the tournament you're not under pressure to play a lot of holes and historically the practice rounds at the PGA can be excruciatingly long, so it's probably going to just be nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday."