Amanda Balionis asks Rory McIlroy about happiness and his response is telling

Rory McIlroy has won three times this season, including the Masters, and CBS’ Amanda Balionis has noticed a change in the Northern Irishman’s demeanor

Amanda Balionis has picked up on a shift in Rory McIlroy’s mental game following his Masters triumph.

All eyes were on McIlroy at the start of the season, with many wondering if he could redeem himself after falling short to Bryson DeChambeau at the U.S. Open and what his overall performance would be like this year. The 35-year-old golfer kicked off the year with a bang, clinching victories in three tournaments, including the prestigious Players Championship and the Masters, joining an elite group of only six players to achieve the career Grand Slam.

McIlroy’s early victories and his apparent conquering of past struggles have led to a noticeable change in his demeanor, something that Balionis observed. In a conversation with the Northern Irishman and his Zurich Classic partner Shane Lowry, the CBS Sports journalist inquired about McIlroy’s current mindset given his impressive start to the season.

“Trevor Immelman said this is the most relaxed and the happiest he’s maybe ever seen you in your career,” she started. Initially, McIlroy responded with a touch of evasion, while Lowry chimed in humorously, suggesting that if McIlroy wasn’t content now, he “never will be.”

But upon reflection, McIlroy acknowledged: “Yeah, look, I mean, after the last couple of weeks and what happened at Augusta, I think coming here, you know, Shane asked me right after the Masters whether I wanted to still play here this week.

“I said, absolutely. It’s such a perfect way to sort of, you know, get back into the swing of things and, you know, being here with my man and trying to defend a title is pretty cool. But yeah, no, we have a lot of fun out there and obviously that was a great way to finish.

As it stands, Lowry and McIlroy are in the thick of it, vying for a top spot as they head into Sunday’s final round in New Orleans. McIlroy has been open about altering his tournament mindset, thanks to guidance from sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella.

Before his Masters victory, McIlroy shared insights on his work with Rotella, particularly during last year’s tough times. “The one thing I feel like would help me to get over the line at Augusta was really trying to focus on – we both work with [sports psychologist Dr] Bob Rotella,” he explained.

“But basically, the one thing I try to do after the end of every round is look myself in the mirror and say, ‘That’s how I want to feel when I play golf.’ If that’s my goal for the rest of my career and I can go after every round and I can look in the mirror and I can say that to myself, then the results will take care of themselves.”

With triumphs at the Players Championship and the Masters already in his pocket, it’s evident that McIlroy’s perspective has shifted significantly, a transformation that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Balionis and other golf aficionados who see him playing with a newfound ease.