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Rory McIlroy - 4 Time Major Winner
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Or it could be that golf is hard and any player can have a bad week for no specific reason. Or any player can have a week where he plays well and somebody else simply plays better.
About these mental issues - I know it was talked about a lot in his early career, and yes there was the toothache
and throwing the club into Donald's lake etc., but genuinely in recent years I can't think of too many times (if any) where I'd say they came to the fore. I wonder are they mostly imagined by people or is it just a narrative that has grown legs somehow ?
People keep saying he's not a grinder, he's not this or he can't do that - I really wonder if that's (and I'm surmising here) because he doesn't look like your average Joe grinder, ie he's not looking at a putt from 25 angles, not endlessly debating clubs and yardages before taking the shot, not doing what a lesser talent might consider to be "grinding". I dunno, I think there's a lot of double standards when it comes to judging Rory. I mean, for example, Matt Wallace comes across as a stroppy d1ck and Sky laud him and talk about how he's so passionate. If Rory was like that you'd think he'd be labelled immature, yet when he shows some calm and grinds out a top 10 (albeit a lucky one), people are saying he isn't mentally strong, or gives up bla, bla.
It certainly is hard and anyone can have a bad week.
But either you think Rory is doing the best with what talent he has, or you don't.
I'm in the "don't" category., hence I'm interested in why he isn't fulfilling his potential.
He has some, at least to me, obvious shortcomings, the most obvious of which is hs approach play. Its just not at the standard it needs to be. I don't actually think his putting is *that* bad, I just think he puts too much pressure on it due to his distance from the hole. Either he is miles away and struggling not to 3 putt, or he is in the 50-60% make range and is under huge pressure to make it since he is not there that often.
I'm ok with him being a streaky putter, some people are just built that way. But missing greens with a wedge in your hand or hitting it into a lake is just shocking and should be a once a year aberration and not a regular enough occurrence.
The stuff you are calling "mental" I would categorize more as personality. I could care less if he is throwing clubs or being a little dick about things, to be frank, I'm not particularly enamoured with what I see of his persona at the moment. Sure I dont think much of Rahms antics or Sergios but Rorys twitter flip-flops dont do it for me either.
I'm saying he is not a grinder based on the bad scores he has, not on how he looks.
He doesnt typically throw in an 80 like some do, but he does (or at least did) often have a 74 when really he could have had a 71. Thats grinding for me, not how you look at putts or debating yardage, its just getting it done when you dont have your best game. Playing ugly.
I dont think I've ever seen him play ugly and score, he just plays crap instead!
I would disagree that he ground out a top 10, he lashed in a bunch of birdies when he was well out of it. Grinding is making sure that you are not well out of it, keeping yourself in the picture so that when you lash in the birdies on Sunday its for something.0 -
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It certainly is hard and anyone can have a bad week.
But either you think Rory is doing the best with what talent he has, or you don't.
I'm in the "don't" category., hence I'm interested in why he isn't fulfilling his potential.
He has some, at least to me, obvious shortcomings, the most obvious of which is hs approach play. Its just not at the standard it needs to be. I don't actually think his putting is *that* bad, I just think he puts too much pressure on it due to his distance from the hole. Either he is miles away and struggling not to 3 putt, or he is in the 50-60% make range and is under huge pressure to make it since he is not there that often.
I'm ok with him being a streaky putter, some people are just built that way. But missing greens with a wedge in your hand or hitting it into a lake is just shocking and should be a once a year aberration and not a regular enough occurrence.
The stuff you are calling "mental" I would categorize more as personality. I could care less if he is throwing clubs or being a little dick about things, to be frank, I'm not particularly enamoured with what I see of his persona at the moment. Sure I dont think much of Rahms antics or Sergios but Rorys twitter flip-flops dont do it for me either.
I'm saying he is not a grinder based on the bad scores he has, not on how he looks.
He doesnt typically throw in an 80 like some do, but he does (or at least did) often have a 74 when really he could have had a 71. Thats grinding for me, not how you look at putts or debating yardage, its just getting it done when you dont have your best game. Playing ugly.
I dont think I've ever seen him play ugly and score, he just plays crap instead!
I would disagree that he ground out a top 10, he lashed in a bunch of birdies when he was well out of it. Grinding is making sure that you are not well out of it, keeping yourself in the picture so that when you lash in the birdies on Sunday its for something.
I'd agree with some of that, and disagree with parts.
I also think he's vastly under achieving on his potential. I've no idea what the real reason(s) are.
His approach play, for all its criticised, isn't actually all that bad, he's reasonably consistently in the upper reaches of the proximity to the hole stats. I did notice last year however, and I can't remember the exact numbers, that while he was at or near the top of the proximity stats in the sort of 75-175 range from the fairway, he was very close to the bottom when it came to hitting from the rough. Now, is it his driving that's putting him into trouble ? or is it his technique where he's so shallow into the ball, that hitting from rough is difficult compared to, say a Koepka, who's steep as hell into the ball ? Again, totally guessing tbh. I know there is a school of thought that reckons that players who have what Pete Cowan calls "flash speed" at the bottom will always struggle with the wedges compared to a more stiff wristed player like Stricker or Zach J.
I agree with you in having no issue with being a streaky putter, lots of the greats were. Was he last on Thusday and first on Sunday in putting ? Something close to that anyway. That's probably never going to change.
As regards grinding and playing ugly, he said himself he tried on every single shot at the PGA. I don't really buy into the he doesn't grind school of thought. He just doesn't play ugly golf, bad golf - for sure, but IMO the nature of his striking and game doesn't really lend itself to ugly stuff. If someone's swing or game is aesthetically pleasing they could be grinding like mad and you'd never know. Not for a moment suggesting he's perfect, far from it, but I think there's too much made of whether he's bouncing around or has a bit of a slump in the shoulders. I find that whether he shoots 63 or 73 you always feel he's after leaving 3 or 4 shots out there, I don't think that's not grinding, you just can't make everything.
It depends on how you look at his top 10. I don't agree it was simply lashing in a load of birdies when well out of it. Apart from a horror start to day 2, +5 for his first 3 holes, he was still in the tournament to an extent. Does his back nine on Friday count as playing well when the pressure was off, or was it getting the head down and salvaging a round after a bad start - maybe even "grinding" out a 71 from potential 76? 0 -
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neddynasty wrote: »I'll back you on that! He'll win one of the Opens. I'm not sure which one though.
Well I've got the first 2 major winners of the year right on here so hoping the get all 4
I honestly think Rory's game is not too far away and we all know how well he likes Portrush.0 -
Well I've got the first 2 major winners of the year right on here so hoping the get all 4
I honestly think Rory's game is not too far away and we all know how well he likes Portrush.
Hope you had a few quid on them. Throw up who you think for the next 2
I'd be curious what price they give for Rory or any other golfer to win one major at the beginning of the year.
Easy to work out 1 or more, also easy enough to work out exactly 1, exactly 2 etc if you assume the probability of each is the same(obviously isn't).
It gets more complicated if you adjust the probability changing in each event assuming all are independent events and even more complicated once it gets into dependent probability.0 -
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I think there's too much made of whether he's bouncing around or has a bit of a slump in the shoulders. I find that whether he shoots 63 or 73 you always feel he's after leaving 3 or 4 shots out there, I don't think that's not grinding, you just can't make everything.
It depends on how you look at his top 10. I don't agree it was simply lashing in a load of birdies when well out of it. Apart from a horror start to day 2, +5 for his first 3 holes, he was still in the tournament to an extent. Does his back nine on Friday count as playing well when the pressure was off, or was it getting the head down and salvaging a round after a bad start - maybe even "grinding" out a 71 from potential 76?
I think you can tell a fair bit from someones demeanor on the course..slumped shoulders with the "why me" face isn't really someone who is grinding.
For example, we have seen Tiger play badly and struggle, but most of the time, even when he is give it the "poor me" act, its with a wry grin on his face.
Rory just looks defeated too often to me. Maybe thats purely on the outside, but any sports psychologist (and we have plenty of armchair wannabees on here) will tell you thats not how you do it.
They all leave shots out there, but there is a big difference between leaving some birdies out there due to just not holing putts and pissing away shots by missing greens and not getting up and down (for example)
Can you call it grinding if its on the back nine on Sunday and you are well out of it? I honestly dont know!
And tbh, he is never going to come on and say "I gave up there and didn't try for those first 9 holes" so, as Tiger taught us well, you can't take much from the post-round interviews these guys give. By and large its all coached.0 -
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