Rory McIlroy Gets Candid About Death, Afterlife: ‘Don't Think I'll Be a Ghost'

When Rory McIlroy is gone, he's not particularly concerned about the impact he's left on the game of golf.

McIlroy, 37, was asked about his "legacy past when you'll be on this Earth" during a press conference on Tuesday, July 14, ahead of the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.

"I don't really care," McIlroy said. "I would like to think that the people that love and care about me think a certain way of me. But I'll be long gone. I'll be dead."

He added, "I don't think I'll be seeing what people say about me. I'll be six feet under. I don't think I'll be a ghost."

Scottie Scheffler got similarly existential when he asked if he cares about his "legacy" on Tuesday.

"I mean to be completely honest, not really," Scheffler, 30, told reporters at Royal Birkdale. "I don't really play for a place in history. I'm not playing for anything like that. Because, this is going to sound a little morbid, but at the end of the day I'm going to live my life and then it's going to end. And when it ends, I'm going somewhere else and I'm not going to be here anymore."

Scheffler continued, "Legacy and all that stuff was never really something that motivated me. For me, it was always competition. I loved playing golf. I loved waking up with butterflies because I'm going out to play a tournament and I get a chance to compete today. I love those feelings, and when I retire, I'm going to miss them."

Ultimately, Scheffler confessed that he has "never once thought about how I'm going to be remembered."

Scheffler's comments came one year after he ruminated on his purpose ahead of the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

"Life goes on," he said of success. "Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, I mean it brings tears to my eyes just to think about because I've literally worked my entire life to become good at the sport and to have that sense of accomplishment, I think is a pretty cool feeling. To get to live out your dreams is very special."

Still, Scheffler admitted that he isn't motivated to "inspire somebody else to be the best player in the world."

"Because what's the point?" Scheffler questioned. "This is not a fulfilling life. It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it's not fulfilling from the deepest places of your heart. There's a lot of people who make it to what they thought was going to fulfill them in life. Then you get there and all of a sudden you get to number one in the world and they're like, ‘What's the point?'"

The 2026 Open Championship begins Thursday, July 16, from Royal Birkdale Golf Club in North West England.

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This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 1:51 PM.