After the U.S. Open a couple of weeks ago, it is the perfect opportunity to profile Rory McIlroy before heading to the top-rated sportsbooks.
What To Do About Rory?
Rory McIlroy’s heartbreaking loss at the U.S. Open a couple of weeks ago to Bryson DeChambeau was a bitter pill to swallow. So, understandably, the Northern Irishman has taken some time away from the sport until next month’s Scottish Open, which precedes the Open Championship.
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) June 17, 2024
Rory McIlroy Major Championship Record
The last of his four major championships was the PGA Championship, which he won straight after his British Open in 2014. It is amazing to think he has not won a major for the decade since.
Certainly, there has been much success in the interim winning the FedEx Cup on three occasions and being the only real generational talent since Tiger Woods. His Major Championships record is below:
- 2011 U.S. Open
- 2012 PGA Championship
- 2014 Open Championship
- 2014 PGA Championship
- (28 top-10 finishes in major championships)
When you analyse his major championship wins, on each occasion, he has held the 54-hole lead and on two occasions he won by eight strokes, the other two by one and two strokes.
That is a little disappointing when you consider he has twenty-eight top 10 finishes.
How Does Rory Compare to Tiger Woods?
Compare that with Tiger Woods, who won fifteen times from forty-one top 10 finishes. Interestingly, Woods won by eight strokes or more on three of his first four, but his last eleven wins were in the main by two or three shots or in play-offs when controlling events from the front.
Then looking at McIlroy’s domestic records on the PGA and DP World Tour, he has twenty-one on the PGA and seventeen on the DP. Those wins around the world illustrate a dominant player who can take any course apart on his day.
Major Championships Are a Different Exam
The problem lies within, and as someone who read Jack Nicklaus’s autobiography many years ago, you realise that winning major championships asks more questions of a golfer. Predominantly, the are many occasions when a more conservative approach is required.
Indeed, the other week, McIlroy acknowledged this himself in the lead-up and during the U.S. Open when telling how he played to a plan and with patience.
In Nicklaus’ autobiography, he told how he played the majors, and, on many occasions, he aimed solely for the centre of the green with a rather simplistic approach. Of course, time has moved on markedly, but was Woods’ game plan a simpler conservative one as he got older? Certainly looks so by the way he won his later major championships.
Not Sticking to the Plan Cost McIlroy at Pinehurst
The problem at the U.S. Open came when McIlroy missed a short putt on 16, his first miss from under three feet this season on the PGA Tour. Suddenly, this affected his mindset and the shot selection on the following holes reverted to his learnt behaviour. After all, that has won him an awful lot and served him well.
We will never know if taking a more conservative club off the 18th tee would have worked for McIlroy, but instead of attacking, should he have been grinding?
Certainly, Nick Faldo was amazed by that shot selection off the 18th tee in the commentary booth, and he gets it: winner of five major championships and a real grinder through the toughest tests of skill, a winner who had discipline and patience to burn.
Maybe McIlroy’s patience snapped a little with all the pressure and he lost his way in his mind, forgetting the mantra of his planned approach, which was flawless for the first 69 holes. Maybe Faldo is the man to seek out for some mentor-type conversations about those little extra changes he could make. Certainly, Faldo always appears to be pulling for Rory and could embrace the challenge.
Rory McIlroy’s Turbulent Life Off the Course
In mitigation, it has been a very testing couple of years for the Northern Irishman away from the course, whether it be that he was used and made to look a fool by Jay Monahan in 2023 having gone into bat for him over the LIV Golf issue or filing for divorce and then a change of heart two weeks ago.
Either way, McIlroy is a stand-up guy, a man of his word who has also not succumbed to the incessant media pressure to sack his caddy, so all those factors will have taken their own toll.
His list of achievements is long, but his major championships tally is looking light. He will be feeling like he has underachieved. Taking a few weeks off is understandable and we would not be surprised to see him come back stronger!
As he said on social media, he is a fighter with huge resilience, you cannot win as much as he does without losing a few. It is a huge test of character but there is no reason he cannot come back stronger for it! The best do!
