Rory McIlroy goes into the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday searching for renewed momentum after a season defined by historic success, shifting motivation and the long pull of another Ryder Cup on Irish soil.

The two-time Masters champion and career grand slam winner has admitted that maintaining intensity outside the game's biggest weeks has not always come naturally, particularly during the PGA Tour's post-Tour Championship lull and the transition into the Fall Series.

"I find it pretty difficult [to motivate myself]," McIlroy told a press conference this week.

“I certainly found it difficult in '25. I don't think I found it as difficult this year, but there was still an underlying, not for the major championships, but for some of the other events that you feel like you're just filling time to get to the next major championship in some ways, and that's hard because you don't want to feel like that.

placeholder image — Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy during a Pro-AM round at Wentworth on Wednesday ahead of the BMW PGA Championship. (Photo by Adam Davy/PA Wire)

"You want to bring the best of yourself every week, of course you do, but when you have success earlier in the year, sometimes it can lead to that, or it certainly led to that for me at times.

"But certainly I was better at it this year than I was last year. If I win the Masters again next year, hopefully I'm better at it next year. These are all good problems to have."

Those problems are enviable ones, but Wentworth still offers McIlroy a timely test. Victory this week may not carry the same emotional force as his iconic triumph at Augusta, yet a second BMW PGA Championship title would provide useful validation as he works through swing changes and seeks sharper results after finishing tied 41st at the Irish Open, 22 shots behind winner Shane Lowry.

McIlroy's lone Wentworth win came in 2014, and the DP World Tour's flagship event has continued to slip from his grasp since.

McIlroy also has a domestic race to chase, with Patrick Reed leading the Race to Dubai.

McIlroy sits 840 points behind Reed and knows a late-season surge is required if he is to claim an eighth title at the Earth Course.

"I'd love to give myself a chance again," McIlroy added. "Last week wasn't a great week for me in terms of the overall points. Patrick had a good week, and I didn't have such a great week.

"I'm certainly motivated to play well for the rest of the year. Still working on some things in my swing, so just trying to have a balance between still keeping an eye on that but trying to play my best golf and give myself some chances to win.”