When you ‘re 25 years of age and you have already won four major championships the sky is deemed to be as high as you wish to go.
Much was expected when Rory McIlroy became a professional golfer in 2007 and the Irishman did not disappoint.
Even after Rory imploded on the final nine holes when leading the 2011 Masters, he showed iron determination in simply obliterating the field two months later at the US Open at Congressional winning by eight shots and setting a new 72-hole record for the championship.
That momentum carried over in the years to follow. In 2014 he joined a very limited group of golfers to have won two majors in a single season and a pathway of promise worthy of mention alongside the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods were stated with resolute conviction. All appeared ready for McIlroy to join the super elite career Grand Slam club and secure a pathway to a total of double-digit career majors.
But in the decade since his last major triumph at the PGA Championship at Valhalla – the storyline on McIlroy has been left with head-scratching bewilderment. The slowly escalating belief that the highest of mountains he was supposed to scale may now have reached a plateau of perplexing puzzlement.
Since winning his second PGA Championship in 2014 – McIlroy has played in 38 majors – finishing in the top ten 21 times, in the top five 11 times. The consistency demonstrated is unmatched. However, in that time frame he has been surpassed by another golfer – Brooks Koepka – having won five majors.
McIlroy still commands the third position in the world rankings but the gap between him and the lead two players – Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele – is noticeable. The aforementioned two golfers from the United States have shown the needed skill in finishing off events with Scheffler winning seven times this year and Schauffele claiming two major wins at the PGA Championship and Open Championship respectively.
Very few professional golfers would consider assessing three worldwide wins as a disappointing season but for McIlroy that’s been the case. 2024 started off in fine fashion with a win in Dubai. He then followed-up with a title in the two-man event in New Orleans with countryman Shane Lowry and then winning for the fourth time at the Wells Fargo at Quail Hollow in May by an impressive five shots over runner-up Schauffele.
The end of the major drought looked promising with the PGA Championship returning to Valhalla. McIlroy played well but not near well enough to catch Schauffele finishing nine shots behind Xander with a T12 finish.
The sting of defeat was amplified when the US Open returned to Pinehurst. Rory showed solid form early in the final round and with just three holes to play it appeared he would end the major-less goose egg and claim his long overdue fifth major and second US Open title.
Inexplicably, McIlroy missed a putt of less than three feet at the 16th and he opened the door wider with a missed four-foot par putt at the 18th. The two blunders provided just enough space for eventual winner Bryson DeChambeau to claim his second US Open win.
McIlroy’s late round meltdown caused him to leave Pinehurst abruptly. No media interviews and no statements from him until the next day.
Keep in mind, this pattern in failing to close out tournaments took place even before Pinehurst. Two years earlier, McIlroy was in prime position to claim his second Claret Jug at The Open on the 150th anniversary of the game’s oldest event. McIlroy was simply outplayed in the final round by Aussie Cameron Smith who scored a 64 to Rory’s pedestrian 70 that included only two birdies.
Fast forward to last week and the latest misfire. That fumble happened at the Amgen Irish Open at renowned Royal County Down Club in Northern Ireland.
McIlroy was competing on home turf with fans pulling mightily for him to secure the win. Moving into the final nine holes Rory had a two-shot edge and it appeared he would garner his second Irish Open win. However, a late-round surge by Rasmus Højgaard changed matters quickly. The Dane chipped in at the 10th for birdie, then reeled off four consecutive birdies to conclude the round and secure the top rung on the leaderboard.
Just as he did at Pinehurst, McIlroy three-putted the penultimate hole and needing an eagle to secure a playoff – missed from ten feet and again settled into the all-too-familiar slot as runner-up.
The time clock is moving onward.
The pressures to realize his vast potential will only become more pronounced. Younger talented players are now emerging seeking to gain traction on their ladder to greatness. Golf, like other elite sports, does not countenance sympathy for those failing to seize the moment when presented the opportunity for ultimate victory.
Superstardom is a lonely road – but even more so are the paralyzing perils of unfulfilled potential. Should McIlroy forever remain at four major wins it will be hard not to tag him as the sport’s greatest underachiever – surpassing the likes of his nemesis Greg Norman – relative to the vast talent he showed during his meteoric start to his professional career.
Major championships define permanent legacy. If and when they happen remains golf’s biggest mystery.
When and for how long the spigot remains open to claim such titles is ever uncertain. When Arnold Palmer claimed his fourth green jacket at the Masters in 1964, the 34-year-old had seven major wins and the likelihood of more to follow seemed certain. None ever came again for The King.
The same happened for the super-talented Seve Ballesteros. The 32-year-old won his third Open Championship in 1988 with an epic final round of 65. The Spaniard seemed poised to add to his total of five majors. Like Palmer, Seve would never win one again.
Very few players can claim major championship titles through a lengthy intersection of time. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods won such titles over a three-decade period. That is the aberration – not the reality.
Some, like Palmer, had a more condensed window from 1958-1964. Ben Hogan did similarly from 1948-1953.
There’s little question Rory still has time to add to his major total. The 35-year-old could well have 40 more starts over the next 10 years. But winning major titles as one nears 40 becomes even more challenging.
When Rory tees it up again next April in the first major of 2025 at Augusta National the buzz will be fever-pitched and the pressures only escalating.
A win at next year’s Masters would forever squash talk on him being an underachiever of massive proportions.
The Rory story remains the most fascinating one to observe and the most excruciating one for him to finally put in his rear-view mirror.
Guaranteed happy endings are assured only in fairy tales.
Rest assured – no one knows that better than McIlroy.
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