Rory McIlroy - 4 Time Major Winner

spacecoyote

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763571#Comment_121763571

I really dont get the Open criticism one. He hit 18/18 GIR that day.

It was exceptional ball striking for the while round.

If you look at stats in general, what they'll say is, hitting greens makes your putting stats look worse in general, as your proximity will be worse and you'll have mostly 2-putts. That day Rory hit every green so his putting numbers were never going to look great.

Smith had a freak of a round, he made some outrageous scores. Fair play to him. Really he went out and won it rather than Rory losing it or throwing it away

benny79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762864#Comment_121762864

Great post and some's it up brilliantly imo. Its a great debate apart for some losing there ****! 😂 Maybe he wants it so bad he tries to hard which causes unforced errors! I dont call that bottling it. Remember he's playing for the Title not the money as such. As the Fed EX is a lot more money than a Major! would I be right in saying its nearly the same money as winning all 4 Majors?

I dont think people at his level bottle things. One mistake can be more costly than others, or a player can just be better on the day & get the bounces ie Cam in The Open.. His putter was on Fire. Did Scheffler bottle the Phoenix with the short putts he missed on the last few holes? That is just the game 🤷‍♂️ I still think he will win more Majors though..

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765378#Comment_121765378

But the poster was saying he has been unlucky. Luck didn't cost him that day. He just didn't play well enough to win. A 70 on a gettable St Andrews course with no wind simply wasn't good enough. He wasn't good enough that day.

I didn't criticize him. **** happens and he didn't react.

BoardsMember

It's not just one thing.

The Open, he had a solid round, no denying. And Jack always said on Sundays you need to hang around and the field will drop away. But with such a straightforward course you'd have to think, with that lead, the Smith comeback comes under pressure if he drops one or two birdies in the front nine. If I remember correctly, he had one of the worst rounds of the day.

Whether this is pressure or not, who knows. One thing that seems irrefutable is that something has changed. We all change over time. For whatever reason, maybe weight of expectation (inner or outward), he hasn't got the job done in 10 years in a major. And majors are hosting focus. I'd use the word pressure for it myself. He hasn't been able to produce the golf needed to win when he wants it most. The evidence is clear - he hasn't won.

A

slave1

It's only two years ago (well ~1.5) but people do forget quickly.

He was not even runner up, he finished 3rd.

Only Victor Hovland (who had a mare) had a worse round than him in the top 18.

Rors shot a -2 round when -5 would have (mathematically) won it, 19 lads shot -5 or better.

Ottoman_1000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765433#Comment_121765433

Luck didn't costs him, but having none of it certainly has....i don't want to go into the fails of Rory over the last few years, but from watching the majors over 30 years, having luck on your side certainly helps.

I'm thinking Scotties break with the drop on the 3rd at the Masters 2 years ago. Cam rolling around the bunker and not into at the Open when he won it. Rahm avoiding the water with a lucky bounce at the Masters last year. The list is endless.

To win a major, you need to hit great shots, putt and you need to get lucky. There's not a professional golf on tour who will tell you any differently.

spacecoyote

Well he really finished third because he tried to hole out his pitch shot on the last green when he knew thats what he needed, hit it firm enough to make sure he got it to the hole but missed which left him with a longer birdie putt than he would have had, I would think, if he had just played for the bird

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765841#Comment_121765841

You need luck to win, of course. Reed chipping in for eagle instead of running 20 ft past was luck when he beat Rory. Rory has also had his fair share of luck. US Open last year, awful shot and embeds in the bunker, gets a free drop. That was lucky. Messed up the chip (very very difficult chip still).

Rory has come so close, so often. You can't put down that many losses to luck. You have to look at other things and pressure getting to him is a plausible explanation. When he gets into contention, he seems to tighten up a lot.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765844#Comment_121765844

I remember that but his play over the previous 17 holes that day is what forced it, same root cause

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765971#Comment_121765971

Has he really come so close, so often though ? I can't think of all that many majors where he was realistically in the hunt going down the stretch. There were obviously a few of course, like the 3 mentioned earlier, but an awful lot of his top 5s and 10s were so called back-door top 10s where he was never really in with a shout on the final day or the back nine on Sunday. I'm not knocking that at all, I very much take the view that the event is 72 holes and if you're 6th after 72 holes it doesn't matter what order you had your birdies or bogeys. Especially when Sunday is usually the highest scoring day with the toughest set-up. At the same time, if you're teeing off on Sunday 6 back, two hours before the leaders, 99% of the time you're not a contender. Even at Carnoustie, where he was one off the lead or leading around the turn, he was never really in it imo, with the players behind him having easy par 5s to come.

To me a lot of his problems up to say the last 12/18 months have been not getting himself into contention on Friday and Saturday for whatever reason. I know majors are a bit different but he's closed out so many tournaments, including majors, I doubt its nerves or not knowing how to get it done. I don't know what it is really tbh other than the odd putt slipping by, but I do feel (and its purely a pet theory of mine) that sometimes he looks to setup down the left and try to hit a fade, and he's just simply not a good fader of the ball.

BoardsMember

I think there's a few things. I wouldn't underestimate the trauma scar from the drive on the 10th hole in Augusta all those years ago when he had a good lead. I believe that has left a massive mark in him. See his opening drive at the Open up north a few years ago, same shot. There's a worm there!

His distance control of wedges was a problem for a long time, not sure he has sorted it.

His putting isn't always good enough.

All the above go away when he's flying it and in flow. He was in flow for the major wins. He hasn't been in flow for a major for 4 days since. I out that down to scarring and pressure and so much desire to do it, he just can't produce his A game when he wants it most.

newport2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121762864#Comment_121762864

Agreed.

Regarding putting, I'd love to see him with a great green reader as a caddie. Someone like Bones. I think a lot of his missed 5-10 foot putts are down to misreads, he's looking at them in disbelief they haven't broken the way he saw them. If he trusted someone who could help with this, it could be the difference. We're talking a quarter to half a shot a round, he's that close so many times.

Ottoman_1000

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121767286#Comment_121767286

I wasn’t going to engage in this topic, as it’s so overdone, but I agree somewhat here. Rory is obviously an unbelievable player and has an outrageous amount of top 10’s and 5’s in the majors over the past 10 odd years.

But I could probably count on 1 hand the number of times he’s been in genuine contention among those finishes.

A lot of he’s best finishes came from him producing a ridiculous 63 or 62 on the Sunday, but he was way back in the field. The damage had been done across the previous 3 days.

I’m not coming in here to jump on the bottler bandwagon, as it makes no sense. The guy has won 4 majors and countless other WGC, PGA, DP etc events. Look at amount of top quality players on tour that can’t even get 1 win to their name, on any tour!

The reason Rory hasn’t won any majors lately, is because he’s an average wedge player (compared to the top .1% on tour) and a streaky putter at best. It’s not because he’s getting the jitters with an 8 iron in his hand as he turns on to the back 9 on a Sunday afternoon. Anyone who thinks that of him doesn’t watch, play or understand a whole lot about golf.

Rory won’t win a major until he addresses his wedges and putter. His unbelievable ability will keep him comfortably within the top 5 players in the world and bring him many many more wins on tour. But the majors are always won by the guys who bring their A game when it comes down to it from 120 odd yards out! 

DellyBelly

That was such a sloppy finish by Rory...double bogey, triple, birdie, bogey. He can be so frustrating. No chance now I suspect

Barnaboy

Wtf! Checked the leaderboard when going to bed. He was -3 and playing the par 5 11th. Expected to see him second or third by close of play. That's the second time in recent weeks that he had a nice round going and completely combusted on last few holes. Never saw a shot so can't comment further.

fullstop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121774220#Comment_121774220

3 putted the par 5 for par and hit his tee shot straight right at the next. Wheels seemed to come off from there. Saw the double but not the triple. Weird stuff.

spacecoyote

For the triple, i think he ended up in a greenside bunker in a very awkward spot, one leg raised up outside the bunker, and he failed to get out of it, then didn't get up and down from his second bunker shot

lbunnae

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763799#Comment_121763799

When he’s out of contention he hits about 6 birdies of a sunday. Funnily enough the people who thinks he hasn’t the mental side of it for majors actually probably think he’s a better golfer than the people who thinks it isn’t nerves.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121775127#Comment_121775127

Guaranteed if he was out of contention those 4 approach shots would have been pin high.

Barnaboy

Back with a bang tonight. Superb 66 and bogey free. Long way back but not out of it yet. Hopefully Seamus can hang in there as well, just inside cut line atm. Playing well today.

DellyBelly

He's such an enigma...gets himself into a great position tonight and then goes bogey triple bogey on 15 and 16....so frustrating...

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121843531#Comment_121843531

3rd comp in a row where he's had a triple bogey if I remember correctly, very odd, generally playing very well but concentration letting him down.

The Big Easy

Playing more than he usually would, so maybe he's finding it harder to stay in it than usual.

I'm liking his approach this year though, looking to play enough to be in mid-season form by Augusta.

abff

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121843684#Comment_121843684

I don’t know if we can blame today’s debacle on lack of concentration. I think it was due to undue optimism/brain f*rt.

Russman

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121843729#Comment_121843729

I think brain fart is putting it mildly tbh. I mean, when you look at where he dropped and then hit his chip to, he was never in a million years getting the shot from the water any closer than that. 5 would have been a miracle from the water, as oppsed to possible/probable after a drop. I think Bill Haas' fluke all those years ago gave everyone notions about playing from water, it almost never comes off.

TBH I don't ever really buy the caddie argument that gets done to death, but I really think Harry should have flat out refused to give him the club to attempt that water shot, although I suppose we do have to factor in that he can be a headstrong little f-cker.. So frustrating as a fan. Caveat: assuming he would have been able to drop after his second shot where he eventually did after his third, can't think why he wouldn't have.

eagle eye

It seems to me that Rory is all about playing to the crowd these days. He hits the ball miles off the tee but hits it on holes where there's risks hitting it long instead of a sensible approach like using a three wood or long iron.

If he pulls off that shot last night everybody is raving about how awesome he is. It'll be forgotten about quickly because he didn't.

Then it comes to the Majors and there's no messing but you've been doing these things all year and you'll make mistakes because of that.

The Big Easy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121844946#Comment_121844946

Well you could argue the 7 was partially the result of taking 3 wood off the tee, playing sensible as you put it, but then leaving himself a longer more difficult second over the water.

Of course the 3 wood off the tee was the right shot, which is the one Rory, considering his skill set, nearly always takes.

sReq | uTeK

After watching the first episode of Full Swing, season 2, on Netflix I have no idea how Rory Mcilroy even performed to the high standards of last year with all that off the course debacle.

It's insight like this that us keyboard warriors who bash him on a tournament basis just have zero insight into.

Legend.

FixdePitchmark

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121855948#Comment_121855948

It is amazing - but at the same time - he makes an assessment on himself saying he is not good enough to compete in majors - was a low moment - but at the same time - he is saying himself - what a good few here were saying for the last 10 years.

AdamD

But he quite clearly is good enough to compete in majors, him being dramatic after a poor round doesn't change that.