I’ll come right out and say it: I’m a massive Rory McIlroy fan. The Irishman has been one of the best things to happen to golf in the past two decades. He’s thoughtful and articulate off the course and swashbuckling on it. He hits shots that players can only dream of, and he comes across as a genuinely nice guy.
He is box office. When he came out to play in the SA Open in 2017, he drew huge crowds to the fairways of Glendower. Even I was caught up in the show, and somewhat star-struck by one of the game’s biggest drawcards.
More importantly, Rory is often the measured voice of players. Lately, since the arrival of LIV Golf, he has stood up as one of the leaders of the PGA Tour — when the actual leadership has been found wanting. I am sure this has taken its toll on the man, but he hasn’t shirked his responsibility.
I’ve been reading a fair bit of commentary about Rory over the past few weeks. Most of it has centred on how he has not won a Major championship in almost a decade. His last win, the 2014 PGA Championship, came off the back of the best year of his career. Two Majors, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the BMW PGA Championship in one season saw him land the European Tour and PGA Tour Players of the Year awards and us scribes rubbed our hands in glee at the expectation of a boatload of Majors in the years ahead. Remember, Rory was only 25 years old by the end of the 2014 season.
Sadly, things just haven’t gone his way in terms of Majors since then. The term “drought” has been bandied about and Brandel Chamblee — never one to shy away from a gaslighting comment when common sense would do — recently questioned whether Rory was now past his physical peak.
At 34 years old.
“You reach your physical prime at about 26, 27, 28,” Chamblee said. “Now I know you think he’s ripped, and he is ripped, all right? But you reach your physical prime at 26, 27.”
Crikey, I’ve heard some nonsense in my time, but this one is right up there.
Most golfers really only hit their prime in their mid-to-late thirties, provided they stay injury free. And most golfers don’t look like Rory — or come close to his physical fitness.
Phil Mickelson — hardly an advertisement for gym membership through the early parts of his career — won all six of his Majors after the age of 34. His last he won at age 50.
To me the term “drought” is horribly misleading. It’s not as if Rory has been in a slump and struggling to win regular events. In fact, I’d argue that he has been the most successful player of the past decade, with 15 PGA Tour wins and another four DP World Tour victories in the past decade. He is also three-time FedEx Cup champion and a double Race to Dubai winner.
It’s just that Rory has not been able to get over the line in the Majors, but the same could be said for a number of other top professionals in the world.
Twenty top 10s since that 2014 PGA Championship is evidence enough that he is getting himself into position to win and you’d have to think that it will come.
He’s too good not to, right?
One thing I will agree with Chamblee on — and this does not happen too often, mind you — is that Rory looks as though he is trying to win his first Major all over again. There is no doubt he is feeling the pressure to add Major number five and sometimes the harder you try, the harder it gets.
And, let’s face it: another reason for his “struggles” is that Majors are exceptionally hard to win. You’re up against the strongest fields, the toughest conditions, the vagaries of the weather and, of course, luck.
You only get four cracks at the Majors per year. Four weeks out of 52 when you need to be at your best, or close to it.
The reason Tiger won 15 Majors is that his B-game was good enough to win. His A-game, of course, was untouchable but, even when not at his very best, Tiger was good enough — or intimidating enough — to get over the line.
Rory has never quite reached the Tiger level. And while I think he’s probably the most naturally gifted golfer of the current crop, the gap between him and the others is narrow enough that if somebody has a great week, Rory will need to produce his A-game. Just ask Brian Harman.
Fortunately, time is still on Rory’s side.
In 2024 he’ll be making his 16th Masters appearance. He has had top 10 finishes in seven of his last 10 years and, in 2022, Rory fired his best round and recorded his best finish when he made birdie from the greenside bunker to shoot 64 in the final round to finish second, that dry spell might even end at Augusta National.
At 34, I’d expect him to be competitive for another decade. Maybe longer. Opportunities will come and I really hope he is able to grab them — it would be nothing less than what he deserves.
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