Rory McIlroy began this major season with the crown jewel of his career, a roller coaster ride in Augusta that threatened to careen off the track many times before elevating him to the highest company in the sport’s history. With no more worlds to conquer, the future Hall of Famer went as flat as the celebratory champagne. Not so much on the course, where he's finished in the top-12 four times in seven attempts since then, including a runner-up at last weekend’s Scottish Open. But he's been at best reclusive and at worst frosty toward the media this summer, and the ebullient spirit that propelled him past fields and into nearly uncharted popularity has been noticeably absent.
All of that is hard to believe and easy to forget after three rounds back in Northern Ireland, where McIlroy is still the main character at the British Open even if his quest to chase down Scottie Scheffler will probably fall short. Sometimes it just takes going home. Of course, the thunderous roars and massive outpouring from the fans help. So too does rolling in 56-foot putts and performing magic tricks by hitting two balls at once en route to a 66 on Saturday.
