OAKMONT, PA. What’s the story with Rory? Coming into Oakmont the 2nd-ranked player in the world had missed the cut at last week’s RBC Canadian Open and the questions were mounting on the state of his golf game.
Keep in mind, the current Masters champion had two earlier season wins at Pebble Beach in the AT&T event and at The Players Championship and he appeared on the cusp of challenging Scottie Scheffler for the top position in the world golf rankings.
But since securing the green jacket at Augusta and becoming just the 6th person to join the elite career Grand Slam club the performance of the talented 36-year-old has been totally baffling. It is now very much become concerning. When a golfer at the elite level is fighting hard to simply make cuts one has to seriously wonder what is happening with Rory?
Since the Masters triumph, McIlroy has played in four events before arriving at Oakmont — one of them being the two-man Zurich Classic with fellow Irishman Shane Lowry. In the three other individual events he was T7 at The Truist but then when playing in the PGA Championship and last week’s Canadian Open – the results were hardly noteworthy. McIlroy was seen as the clear favorite when playing at Quail Hollow given four past wins at the Charlotte-based club. The performance there was less than what seemed likely as he finished T47 and was never remotely in the discussion.
Some had opined a letdown following the Masters was inevitable given the length of the 10+ year major-less streak that had finally come to an end.
When Rory went to Canada the two-time champion had an opportunity to get needed momentum in playing at Oakmont.
McIlroy missed the cut badly with scores of 71-78.
Beyond the questions on the current state of his golf game there have been other matters that have entered the picture. Generally, McIlroy is the most available and candid of players with the media. Since Augusta that lack of availability has become noticeable. McIlroy took umbrage on how the matter of a non-conforming driver was brought out during the PGA Championship. His annoyance in how the information was leaked out clearly was upsetting to him. But the desire to hang that blame on the media for reporting the matter was misguided. That information came from those within the process and it is there that McIlroy’s anguish should have been focused upon in his comments on the subject.
Earlier this season the topic of media accessibility was front and center when two-time major winner Collin Morikawa was criticized for not talking to reporters after squandering a three-stroke lead with five holes to play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. “I don’t owe anyone anything,” said Morikawa at the Players Championship the week after Bay Hill. Morikawa elaborated his comments by saying — “No offense to you guys (media), but for me in the moment, I didn’t want to be around anyone.”
At this year’s Truist event, Lowry bypassed talking to media after scoring bogeys on two of the final three holes. Lowry had stated previously that golfers needed a 30-minute cooling-off period to gather their thought after a round. McIlroy joined the fray by commenting – “From a responsibility standpoint, look, I understand, but if we all wanted to, we could all bypass (the media), and we could on social media and we could talk about our round and do it in our own way. We understand that that’s not ideal for you guys, and there’s a bigger dynamic at play here.”
The concerning issue is how McIlroy has taken an evolved position in explaining himself. “I talk to the media a lot. I think there should be an understanding that this is a two-way street. We understand the benefit that comes from you being here and giving us the platform and everything else, so I understand that.”
But although the PGA Tour does not require players to speak to the media, the desire to place a self-created wall is not the approach followed by past stars such as Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus. McIlroy double-downed on the matter when saying – “I’ve been beating this drum for a long time. If they (PGA Tour) want to make it mandatory, that’s fine. But in our rules it says that it’s not, and until the day that that’s maybe written into the regulations, you’re going to have guys skip from time to time, and that’s well within our rights.”
The scrutiny that follows major sports stars is a constant item. However, the same sports stars can wisely use that platform to shape a storyline rather than have others do so without them involved.
Credit McIlroy for battling through a very slow start to the beginning of the 2nd round at Oakmont. After double-bogeying the 1st and 3rd holes, it would have been easy for him to go through the motions and hop on his jet plane and head back to Florida to lick his wounds.
Coming down the stretch of Friday’s round it was apparent either a 146 or 147 score would be the needed number for weekend play.
McIlroy birdied two of the most demanding holes at Oakmont at the 15th and 18th holes. Ending the day with a two-over-par 72. In tandem with his opening round score of 74 he was able to make the cut by a single shot. Will momentum from the end of his round Friday now carry over to the weekend rounds?
To be totally fair the sample size of his golf game since Augusta is not a large one by any means. Yet the questions are mounting. Given all the emotions spent in securing his 5th major win at the Masters one must now wonder if the haze from that significant accomplishment, in concert with the failed driver test, has meant a clear detour from his highly acclaimed golf abilities.
The final two rounds at Oakmont will be fascinating to watch and see if Rory can change the story and attempt to battle his way back into contention. Past Opens at the club have seen such comebacks — Johnny Miller did so from seven shots back when scoring a final round 63 in 1973. Larry Nelson rebounded from seven shots as well in 1983 and scored a US Open record of 65-67=132 in claiming the title.
Rory McIlroy remains a central figure in the golf world. Does he have the passion and drive to win additional majors? Many had claimed that once returning to the winner’s circle in a major, he would go on to win several more. That assessment has not panned out, thus far.
The malaise he is going through now will only grow until McIlroy can demonstrate a desire to be a competitive force. Once the US Open concludes there will be just one final major in 2025 at The Open Championship. The host site for that event is one very familiar to Rory — Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
Should McIlroy capture his second Claret Jug there the present storyline will fade as fast as it has entered the picture now. However, when Rory returns to a familiar place like Portrush the mounting pressure will also be intensifying. One can only remember the last time the Open was at Portrush in 2019 and how McIlroy started his first round by hitting his opening tee shot out-of-bounds and eventually missing the cut.
The bulls-eye of attention comes with being an elite sports figure. McIlroy, of all people should know that by now. Certainly, Palmer and Nicklaus did. The scrutiny is inevitable and in today’s never-ending information cycle the parsing of every situation can be off-putting for those involved.
Rightly so.
The only known antidote is putting golf scores together that speak the loudest in the existing situation.
More than any words uttered – the golf scores one posts say it definitively.
One thing is for certain, the story with Rory is never boring. The focus on him bears much interest on how the next chapter happens.
All eyes will be watching.
