Rory McIlroy spent much of 2013 in professional turmoil. By the time he shot 79 in his first round at the Open Championship, he admitted to feeling “brain dead” on the Muirfield links. He had already withdrawn from the Honda Classic. An equipment change was taking its toll. So, too, was a weight of expectation created in part by an eight‑shot win at the 2012 US PGA Championship.
By autumn of 2014, McIlroy had added another two major championships to his CV. He admitted last week to watching YouTube videos of the Open of nine years ago, where the range of shot-making has taken a now 34‑year‑old McIlroy by surprise. It seems preposterous that Rory McIlroy may have to convince Rory McIlroy how good he is but we are living in the weirdest of golfing times. This should not be about what he was. Instead, what he is and can be.
McIlroy departed Los Angeles and the 123rd US Open while still unable to scratch his itch. The wait for major No 5, which would place him alongside Seve Ballesteros – or, more contemporaneously, Brooks Koepka – goes on. McIlroy could never admit it, but losing out to Wyndham Clark, an individual only seasoned golf fans could pick from a lineup, can only add to his sense of frustration. Falling short to Scottie Scheffler would have been easier to swallow.
Koepka, the US PGA champion, started US Open week rather sneering at those in his competitive domain who let external factors impinge upon their golf. This was a supposedly superior approach to McIlroy, who purposely avoided pre‑tournament media duties in a deliberate bid to avoid the Saudi Arabian elephant in the room. Koepka, who later did not hide his disdain for the LA Country Club course, finished in a tie for 17th.
Cliches have already appeared in abundance: McIlroy bottled it, McIlroy lacks the X factor of his youth, McIlroy will stagnate on four majors (hardly a total to be sniffed at, if not the point) forever. The theories are invalid. For some reason, McIlroy’s failure to win on demand seems to spark venomous anger among those who should admire him. All evidence suggests McIlroy is closer to sealing a quintet of majors than ever before. When that happens, it would also be wise to bank on floodgates opening. With a psychological weight off his mind, McIlroy can enter a new and prosperous phase in his career.
McIlroy likened Sunday at the LA Country Club to the same day at St Andrews when the Open passed him by last July. There was one key similarity; McIlroy’s putter refused to behave. Yet his demeanour during round four in California was in complete contrast to Fife. On Open Sunday, he looked tight and tense. On US Open Sunday, so much of his golf and strategy was first class. It is important to note he could not directly affect Clark, who was playing in the group behind alongside a stumbling Rickie Fowler. When Fowler hit a career low, he was 185th in the world. It is seen as an emergency if McIlroy slides outside the top five.
The Northern Irishman finds himself on the wrong side of tiny margins. Putts for birdie at the 2nd, 9th and 10th holes on Sunday could easily have dropped. That the ball stayed above ground on each occasion meant aberrations – and there were only two of them, at the 8th and 14th – were amplified. It is easy to overanalyse McIlroy but the difference between a 68, which would have won him a second US Open, and the 70 he signed for was incredibly marginal. He is not a poor putter but he can be a streaky one. He did not “bottle” the opportunity of victory because he was never in control of the tournament during an engaging final day.
There have been times during this run when it may have looked as if McIlroy’s major run was over. In 2021, for example, his results in golf’s marquee four events were: missed cut, tied 49th, tied seventh, tied 46th. Last year, conversely, his worst outcome in the same set of events was eighth. An early exit from the Masters in April was an undoubted blow but McIlroy responded, when not playing particularly well, with a share of seventh at the US PGA. When his brush with glory in Los Angeles is factored in, it is clear this is a golfer trending in the right direction rather than one for whom we should all be fearful. With the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund promising to live happily ever after, McIlroy can also apply a single-mindedness to his golf that has possibly been missing during golf’s civil war.
McIlroy rails against any sense golf would ever owe him one. He dismisses notions about what is written in the stars. Point out that he was born with a God‑given, exceptional talent and he will offer counterpoints about sacrifices made to let him realise his dreams. McIlroy works far harder than for which he is widely given credit. It can be guaranteed he will believe he has to earn major No 5, rather than it landing on his lap because someone in the great clubhouse in the sky believes he has paid his dues. Still, any other golfer delivering the consistent level of optimum performance associated with McIlroy would be regarded as an inevitable major champion. And soon.
He must keep the faith. McIlroy should not require YouTube to realise just what he can accomplish and, surely, will do soon. Only a fool would write him off at this juncture.
