Just two days shy of his 21st birthday, the mop-haired Northern Irishman pummelled a strong field with a course record 10-under-par 62 to win his first PGA Tour title by a commanding four shots.
“I don’t want to get myself too carried away,” McIlroy told reporters on the eve of Thursday’s opening round of the Players Championship at the TPC Sawgrass.
“It was a great weekend and I played really, really well. But this win doesn’t mean I’m going to contend in the majors right away. I really hope I do, but it’s a very long career.
“I feel pretty comfortable in that sort of environment. If I can learn something every time I play a major, by the time I’m 23, 24, I should be in a good position to go after them.”
McIlroy, who clinched his first European Tour title at last year’s Dubai Desert Classic, has long been regarded as one of the game’s brightest prospects.
Just over a year ago, Tiger Woods predicted the Northern Irishman, then aged 19, was capable of inheriting his crown as world number one. Most of McIlroy’s peers agree.
The Briton’s victory at Quail Hollow, while stunning in its execution, was perhaps even more impressive in that he overhauled and then held off multiple major winners Phil Mickelson and Angel Cabrera.
“It’s all about self-belief, knowing that I beat a great field there on basically a major championship venue, especially with the likes of Phil and Angel coming behind me,” McIlroy said.
“To hold them off and play great golf like that down the stretch just gives me that belief if I can do it there I can pretty much do it anywhere.”
McIlroy said he gained inspiration for his superb closing round at Quail Hollow from Japanese teenager Ryo Ishikawa, who won the Crowns tournament in Japan earlier in the day after shooting a magical 12-under-par 58.
“I turned on the PGA Tour website on Sunday morning and saw Ryo had shot 58 to win,” McIlroy added. “That drove me to say: ‘All right, I can go out and shoot a good score and try to win this golf tournament.’ You know, we’re all driving each other to try to become better.”
McIlroy is scheduled to tee off at 1328 local (1728 GMT) with South Korea’s KJ Choi and American Bill Haas in Thursday’s opening round.
Meantime, Anthony Kim withdrew from The Players Championship on Tuesday because of an injured left thumb that could require surgery sooner than he anticipated.
Kim says the ligament has become detached from his thumb, an injury he has been coping with even through good times. He won the Houston Open, shot 65 in the final round to finish third at the Masters and tied for seventh last week at Quail Hollow.
“This injury has been well documented over the past month, and I’ve been doing everything I can to play through it,” Kim said in a statement. “But it became more of an issue last week and needs to be looked at.”
The 24-year-old American said he would consult with doctors this week to figure out his next step.
Kim has said recovery would take two or three months, depending on surgery and the amount of damage. That comes at a bad time with three majors ahead and a Ryder Cup he is desperate to play. The 24-year-old American is No. 2 in the standings, although the points list is more fluid this year.
Going into last week, Kim said he had been told the thumb can’t get worse from more play.
“In golf, there’s not really a good time to take time off,” Kim said last week.
Kim is No. 11 in the world and becomes the second highly rated player to pull out of The Players Championship, which some consider the biggest event behind the majors.
Steve Stricker, No. 3 in the world, withdrew Monday because of continued soreness in his right clavicle.