Rory McIlroy: New haircut and new house for new motivation?

It is said that there have been many people who have heralded a new phase in their lives with a visual change. This is a way of signaling to yourself and everyone else that something has changed. Initially, of course, this happens on the inside, but with a new hairstyle, for example, it also becomes visible on the outside. Curls that embody the old life sometimes fall off like a heavy burden.

If the old life is that of a Grand Slam winner in golf, this can be surprising at first glance. But when you realize that Rory McIlroy didn't really know why he was still chasing titles and trophies after winning the Masters in April, which means he has now won all four major tournaments in golf at least once, it's easier to understand.

Is Rory McIlroy fully motivated again?

With the dark curls that the 36-year-old has been known for since his youth, the "unmotivated Rors" should now also disappear. The top star needs new goals and he seems to have found them. The Open Championship on home soil comes at just the right time. Over the last few weeks, he has taken a break and moved into his new home with his family in the luxurious Wentworth Club, where the flagship event of the DP World Tour is also held. Not only has he settled in well there, he has also had time to reflect, McIlroy reported ahead of the Scottish Open, which the pros use to prepare for the Open Championship, the last major of the year.

"My game needed it"

"Yeah, it was nice to have that time to reflect and also to rekindle my excitement and enthusiasm for the rest of the year. Obviously we've got a big week this week in Scotland and then next week [at the Open] in Portrush," he described his transformation himself. He continued, "The first 25, 30 weeks of the year you play golf on the PGA Tour and you have to completely detach yourself from that because the world of golf can become all-encompassing. In the last two weeks I felt like I could isolate myself and hide in a way. I needed that. My game needed that."

The next two tournaments will show whether it has worked. At the last Open in Royal Portrush in 2019, McIlroy missed the cut when his friend and compatriot Shane Lowry won and sent Irish golf fans into ecstasy. Last year, the five-time major winner also failed in his attempt to reach the weekend. Since April, he has no longer needed to prove that he is one of the greatest golfers of all time. Whether McIlroy is really motivated again will be judged by his game and not by his hairstyle.