The U.S. Open is over, but the golf doesn’t stop. The PGA TOUR is back in the Northeast for the final Signature Event of the season – the Travelers Championship – before it heads to the Midwest for a pair of crucial Full-Field Events that lead into a two-week dalliance in Europe.

So, ahead of the Travelers, let’s catch our breath and assess five burning questions that will define the next month of the TOUR season.

1. What’s fair to expect from Rory McIlroy?

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy did not mince words when discussing his lack of motivation since his Masters victory. “Yeah I have felt a little flat,” he said during last week’s U.S. Open.

His results have also felt flat. He was a non-factor in the last two majors, making the cut but never contending at the PGA Championship or U.S. Open. Though McIlroy seemed to make strides throughout the week at Oakmont, closing with a final-round 67 to push his way into a tie for 19th and putting together several consistent days off the tee.

What McIlroy’s next few months look like will be a product of how his mental approach evolves. If he’s locked in, it’s fair to expect that any deficiencies in his game will get cleaned up. But if he struggles to rekindle that pre-Masters motivation for most of the summer, the shaky results may follow.

So what’s fair to expect?

“Look, I climbed my Everest in April,” McIlroy said. “I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”

That’s the silver lining. With The Open Championship headed back to McIlroy’s Northern Ireland, it’s not a stretch to expect he will be tuned up for the return. McIlroy infamously struggled the first time The Open came to Portrush in 2019, shooting an opening-round 8-over 79 as he struggled to navigate the pressure of The Open in his backyard.

McIlroy is in the field for this week’s Travelers Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open. Can McIlroy show signs of improvement? Or will it take another month before McIlroy is fully focused?

2. Was that Adam Scott’s last shot?

It was the question that lingered all weekend at Oakmont, one that Adam Scott hoped to quell with a vintage performance and a trophy on Sunday night. Yet it persists as Scott fell short of winning the U.S. Open and his long-sought-after second major.

Was that Adam Scott’s last best shot at a major championship? Unless you’re Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy, the nature of pro golf means you likely only get a couple of great chances to win a major championship. Scott, 44, knows that better than anyone. He’s spent the last 25 years as a pro. It took him 13 years to get his first major – the 2013 Masters – and he’s tried to add to that collection for the last 12. And Oakmont might have been his closest call.

Playing in the final pairing, Scott co-led at points of Sunday’s back nine, but ultimately fizzled as conditions deteriorated. In the end, he shot 9-over 79 and dropped outside the top 10, a result that won’t tell the story when revisited in a decade. Scott had a legitimate chance to win this major. Will it be his last?

There are reasons to believe it won’t. Scott, despite his age, has never had a serious injury and deploys one of the most sustainable swings in the sport. He’s actually gaining speed as he ages, more than keeping up with the distance increases in pro golf. But it’s just really hard to get this close. Despite the late struggles, Scott’s result at the U.S. Open was his best finish in a major since 2019.

3. Will the improved form of Sam Burns, Cameron Young sustain?

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, take notice: A pair of Americans have awoken from a spring slump and are rounding into form at the right time.

It was a disappointing start to the year for both Sam Burns and Cameron Young, but the American duo have found their game in recent weeks and months. Both Burns and Young contended at the U.S. Open and finished inside the top 10. Burns led during portions of Sunday’s back nine before struggling to adapt to the course conditions down the stretch. Young, meanwhile, rocketed up the board with a few late birdies in the brutal conditions.

One week isn’t enough to say they are back, but both Burns and Young have shown signs that this was coming, long before the U.S. Open.

Burns’ turn of play came at the RBC Heritage. Still outside the top 50 of the FedExCup at the time. Burns finished tied 13th in Hilton Head and carded a top 20 at the PGA Championship and a tied 12th at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. He nearly won the RBC Canadian Open, losing in a playoff to Ryan Fox. After his top 10 at the U.S. Open, Burns is No. 18 in the FedExCup. Notably, Burns leads the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting.

Young’s reemergence began a few weeks later at the Truist Championship in May. He finished tied seventh in Philadelphia, added a top 25 at the Memorial, and has now carded back-to-back tied fourth finishes at the RBC Canadian Open and U.S. Open. Young has also been powered with a hot putter, gaining strokes in his last six events, which has complemented his above-average performance off the tee. Young, once outside the top-70 in the FedExCup, is up to No. 30 in the standings.

Can they keep up that play in the lead-up to the Ryder Cup? The concerns about the U.S. Team’s depth would be diminished if so.

4. Can Xander Schauffele salvage his season?

What would be a solid season for most pros – No. 50 in the FedExCup, a top 10 at the Masters, and five other top 20s – has felt like a disappointment for Xander Schauffele thus far in 2025.

That’s because he, and we, know just how much he is capable of. But Schauffele has struggled to replicate that top level he had maintained for the last several years, particularly in 2024 when he won two major championships.

The rib injury he overcame at the beginning of the year is certainly part of the equation, but Schauffele has said he feels fully healthy again. That has yet to yield a week in which Schauffele is firmly in contention through Sunday. While he has amassed those top-20s, his T8 at the Masters is his best finish. That’s not what the world No. 3 has come to expect of himself.

There’s still time to change that. Schauffele’s next three starts – the Travelers Championship, Genesis Scottish Open and The Open – are all tournaments Schauffele has won. He will be among the betting favorites for them again this year. A win at any would help salvage Schauffele’s season and comfortably ensure he will be around long enough to reach the TOUR Championship, one of his favorite stops every season.

5. Will any new rookie make an immediate impact?

It’s a fascinating summer on the PGA TOUR for many reasons. The re-worked TOUR Championship is one reason. The reduction from 125 TOUR cards to 100 is another. But what will take shape before either of those two events is the full introduction of a historic PGA TOUR University Class.

Luke Clanton, David Ford and Gordon Sargent all made their member debuts at the RBC Canadian Open and will figure prominently in Full-Field Events through the rest of the regular season.

Since PGA TOUR University began giving college seniors direct access to the TOUR, it has fostered compelling storylines. Ludvig Åberg was the first to earn a TOUR card directly and played incredibly well right away, earning a Ryder Cup berth and eventually a TOUR win in the FedExCup Fall. Michael Thorbjornsen didn’t find that level of acclaim immediately, but he did finish runner-up at the John Deere Classic and added two more top 10s in the fall.

Now multiply that hype by three, as we have multiple players jumping straight from college to the TOUR. Ford has made his way through the traditional pathway, while Clanton and Sargent both earned their card through the Accelerated Program. They are all on even footing now. Can any of them make an immediate impact and challenge Karl Viliips for Rookie of the Year? They have the talent to do it.