Rory McIlroy - 4 Time Major Winner

Barnaboy

Away from this thread for a day, just wow! Agree a lot with Benny. He did choke by any standards. But we hadn't seen Rory that good up until the last few holes in years.

If he can accept those mistakes and learn from them, i think multiple majors are incoming. I would be hopeful. The strategy up to that point was something I wanted to see for years. Patient. Not going for everything.

As I said on a previous post, the Open is now huge. He has a few weeks to dust himself down. More play like the first 68 holes in Pinehurst and he will be in the shake up. If he does, I expect he will close it out this time.

If he is 'only' top 20 going in to the weekend and sneaks another back door top 10 I fear that will be the end of him. He will then spend the next 9 months tormenting himself.

I'm optimistic for him. We will find out very soon.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277333#Comment_122277333

The comments, with the odd exception have been very fair and balanced, and reflect the enormity of what happened. If you want a closed discussion with only like minded viewpoints, there is a PM function as well.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277347#Comment_122277347

funny auld game = strange

There’s no fine margins. One was the right club for Patrick. One was the wrong club for Rory. Commentary were stunned Rory had 7i in hand

benny79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277374#Comment_122277374

Do you play golf? A fine margin is picking the wrong club that costs you the tournament ie One mistake at the wrong time which has a snowball effect.

benny79

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277364#Comment_122277364

Enormity of what happened? Its one tournament 😂 Yes a Major but Im sure he will play plenty more and will win one again. My post was more about the traffic this thread gets and Rory hate as everyone is quick to point out! Its the same every time in this thread when Rory fcuks up. Yet when he wins you get hardly anything apart from a few posts. All the Rory bashers go missing.. I'd rather see him in contention than not, made for a great end to a Major. Edge of seat stuff.

I am by no means a Rory fan boy just like yourself 😉

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277479#Comment_122277479

I think you are just looking for an argument if you are seriously asking “enormity of what happened?”.

You’ll have to find someone else to play with.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277435#Comment_122277435

Yeah, I play golf. Played with the society on here actually. But thats completely irrelevant. You don't need to play golf to understand what Rory did. You shouldn't discount or discredit someones opinion over whether they hack it around 18 every now and then.

Rory picking the wrong club isn't fine margins. Its poor course management. Your reference to Cantlay demonstrates that you don't quite understand that. Its not like it dribbled off, it missed by a long long long way.

I would have said the bogey on 5 was fine margins. Lands a yard further up, eagle putt. It didn't and its rolled off the false front. On 15, he missed it by a long long way.

slave1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122277333#Comment_122277333

Goes with the territory unfortunately, if it was Shane instead of Rory then that thread would be getting all the action. Rory's profile is much much higher though, so attracted huge coverage across all the formal and social media…in turn will attract more posts from more passive forum users.

Hopefully when Rory wins the Open next month this thread will explode ☺️

OEP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122276967#Comment_122276967

Just want to say it's not customary! It has become a thing amongst the American "bros" like Spieth, Fowler, Thomas etc..

eagle eye

Its not just Rory, any Irish person that becomes successful seems to be a target for many. It's like the Brits were twenty or thirty years ago.

Bobby Robson was treated terribly after England lost the World cup semi-final. He was reported as a bad man, cheating on his wife, fighting with players. Robson was a wonderful person, loved by everybody that knew him.

I don't like McGregor because of all the nasty stuff he says but I respect what he's accomplished. You see so much attacking of him it's unreal. Same with Rory. I'd imagine they are the two biggest sports stars from this island.

It comes across to me as jealousy. I don't understand how you could be that way towards a person who has worked his socks off to make it.

DeanAustin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122276285#Comment_122276285

"mad how he putt 496 out of 496 before that at that distance. But yeah I’m sure it wasn’t nerves that he missed his 497th."

That's the line I quoted in relation to that stat. It's a subtle misunderstanding but the poster won't be the only person to misinterpret the stat like that. And that then builds a narrative. "He made 496 putts at that distance and then missed when it mattered". Which is not a million miles from the truth but it's an exaggeration to make a point and spin what happened more strongly in a certain way. The exaggeration makes McIlroy look like more a "choker".

My issue with "meltdown" and "choker" are that they are unnecessary words to describe what happened. They are words I'd expect to be used by tabloids and they feed a view of the world that will manifest itself in very nasty social media posts. Fact is, Rory McIlroy missed two short putts we'd all expect him to make under pressure and it cost him the US Open. In my opinion, the pressure got to him because I can't find any other explanation for it happening. The one on 16 was a particularly bad stroke. Not sure why people need to overlay that with extreme words like "meltdown" and "choker".

But look, it's not just golf where that happens. You look at football coverage and any team that loses a game they're expected to win, they're accused of being "chokers". I find it tiresome, lowest common denominator stuff.

Quango Unchained

At least Rory can console himself that he's won a few already.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2006/jun/20/golf.sport

Even if gracefulness of Montgomerie's concession was slightly undermined by the gracelessness of his decision to skip the formal presentation ceremony, not to mention his alleged entanglement in the clubhouse with a New York state trooper, it would have taken a heart of high-grade titanium not to feel sorry for the man.

If Rory is to win a few more majors, statistically, he will almost need to have a few more very near misses and not beat himself up too much about it. As is well known, Niklaus finished runner-up 19 times in majors.

FixdePitchmark

Maybe I need to change my ways .

But I'm a pool fan and give them unreal stick if they underperform. I have seriously had issues with many players in the squad..

Only reason I'd be harsh on Rory is because I want him to win so much.

I just can't follow someone with blind loyalty..he has been error prone , has lacked effort at times, has been overly stubborn in his ways...

But he is a good bloke for all his wealth and success..yes overly emotional for what is needed..but I'd still rather that in a way..

But at the moment he deserves a victory, you can see how much work he has put into parts of his game that were poor / not good enough to win a major.

I think you can be the biggest supporter / fan in the world ...but call out stuff too.

Would agree there are pure opertunist here, to stick boot in ..and that is twisted..because for all the talk of Ireland being a great sport nation ...we rarely have people at the top top of their field in sport ...

Enjoy them when they are here ..Ireland/ northern Ireland might never have a person at Rorys level again..and he has been at the top , what 15 + years ..

I followed golf when you were on page 3/4 / M/C of the leaderboard in amajors...

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278163#Comment_122278163

You stated:

But the stat is misleading.

In response to:

The stat is being used because its the most relevant stat available. Nobody has the stat on that exact distance and that stat would be meaningless. Inside 3ft is a putt PGA Tour Pros make 96% of the time on average. The putt on 16 he missed was a gimme.

The stat is not misleading, the stat is perfectly clear. Inside 3ft. The stat is not being presented by any journalist to exaggerate anything, the stat is being presented in a balanced manner in context with all relevant information.

From the Irish Times:

McIlroy had faced 496 putts inside three feet all season standing on the 16th green and had made all 496 of them

Being used perfectly in context and not being used to exaggerate anything.

The stat has been widely used by nearly everyone in the correct context. The stat exaggerates nothing. It simply shows he's been rock solid in that category of putt all season. He didn't hole on 16 and it cost him.

OEP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278017#Comment_122278017

Come on now, people attack McGregor because he's a complete piece of sh*t. Horrible human being.

MOD EDIT: This is not a free speech site, ease off the personal comments please

walshb

Comparing Rory and his behaviour and how he carries himself as a person to McGregor..😖

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278017#Comment_122278017

England have slaughtered every football manager, even Sir Alf Ramsey, who was manager when they won in 66, Sir Bobby was not unique.

This accusation of unfairness, jealousy etc is to deflect on the topic of the day, which is of course today, what happened on Sunday. It isn’t unfair or Jealousy on anyone’s part to comment in a negative way about what happened, it played out there for all to see and to say. Doesn’t change the fact that he is a great player, nor is anyone suggesting that he isn’t a great player, so it really is nonsense to try and spin it any other way than it is.

But anyways, let’s spiral down this rabbit hole again of posters getting annoyed at any slight aimed towards the subject of thread.

DeanAustin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278447#Comment_122278447

What relevance does it have if, say, 200 of those putts were shorter than the ones he missed? It's a stat that's open to misinterpretation and misuse, as evidenced the by the post I quoted originally, and there is no need for it.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278564#Comment_122278564

Dean, I suspect most would associate shorter with being easier less, not more likely to be missed.

slave1

I agree on the stat, the proper one should be say, 2ft to 3ft as tap ins are included in the current stat being quoted.

But regardless, the miss was shocking, I actually feel sorry for Rory for the putt on 18 as the ball took a dive off what looked like some imperfection on the putting line but onus was on him to clean up his line.

DeanAustin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278591#Comment_122278591

That's my point. There are a lot of shorter putts in that 496 that are much easier to hole than the ones he missed on Sunday. So he didn't hole 496 putts of that difficulty - many of them were much easier. The core point is fine - he missed two putts that you'd expect him to hole all day long and that he's been holing all season. However, the stat is easy to misunderstand or misrepresent and that's a problem I find with a lot of sporting stats that get used in isolation - they lack context and get (mis)used to drive a narrative.

It's a subtlety, the core point is correct but I don't believe the stat is really that relevant to the point being made.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278564#Comment_122278564

If 200 putts were shorter then 296 putts were longer and thats an even more damning stat.

PGA Tour pros make 96% of putts inside 3 foot and 99% of putts inside 2 foot. The stats drop off very quickly from there. That's why they use the 0-3 foot metric. Years of historical data to show they're gimmes. That's the relevance.

Statistics are there to be used an interpretted. Its utter nonsense to disregard it and shows a complete misunderstanding of how statistics are used in everyday life.

So far you've an issue with:

• Meltdown - its too emotive
• Choke - its hyperbole
• Statistics - they're not specific to the exact 2ft 6" putt he had

Just accept it, he bottled the **** thing instead of arguing semantics ad naseum.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278594#Comment_122278594

Its the most relevant stat available. No stat is perfect but that's the closest one. There is no 2-3ft stat easily available, if there was, it would have been used by now. I am sure someone like DeanAustin would make the same argument that its still open to misinterpretation because there would still be putts from inside where Rory hit it and why not break it down by inch instead of feet or barleycorns instead of inches. Its a neverending pointless argument.

Its a normal and fair stat to use and is there to be interpreted in the given context. He's made every putt like that this year (it also shows he's made putts from further away and from closer). Any sensible person knows exactly what it means and its not being used to exaggerate anything.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278610#Comment_122278610

So he didn't hole 496 putts of that difficulty

The stat doesn't claim that.

Nor is distance the sole metric of difficulty.

Putts inside 3ft - 96% holed. Putts inside 2ft - 99% holed. Putts inside 3ft are broadly the same difficulty and grouped together in stats for that reason. That's where the pull the 0-3ft range from. Years of historical data.

DeanAustin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122278795#Comment_122278795

And you've just illustrated my point somewhat. Because I've disputed the stats and language being used, you're assuming that I think Rory didn't "bottle it". If you look at my posts over the last couple of days, I've said repeatedly that I believe he missed the putts because the pressure got to him. I've never once disputed that. But you've misinterpreted my challenge to the language being used in much the same way that the original poster I quoted misinterpreted the "496 putt" stat.

Anyway, we'll go around in circles endlessly if we continue to debate this - let's agree to disagree. You have your opinion, I have mine and they aren't actually a million miles away from each other when you boil them down to what actually happened on Sunday.

tayto lover

Rory missed two short putts in the last 3 holes. That's why people are talking.

bren2001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122279026#Comment_122279026

And you've just illustrated my point somewhat. Because I've disputed the stats and language being used

At no stage have I said the stat means anything different. You're saying thats misleading. Its not. The word "inside" is quite important.

let's agree to disagree

Yeah, agreed. Aside from a few words, there's very little difference in our opinion.

Hopefully he wins in Troon and ends the misery for us all!

The Big Easy

Here's a much better emotional account and understanding of what that was like for a McIlroy supporter.

https://www.sportinglife.com/golf/news/rory-mcilroys-latest-major-near-miss-as-bryson-dechambeau-wins-the-us-open/218606

whitelaurel

I feel like if he doesn’t win another one that will be talked about a lot more than the 4 he did. Rarely has someone so good and dominant not been able to win the big ones. His averaged out ranking has to be in top 2/3 the last 10 full years.

The Big Easy

I've compared him (favourably) to Greg Norman several times before.

Only Tiger has been world number 1 for longer than Greg Norman. His return of two majors for all his dominance is way under what it should've been and he's had far more heartbreaking Major losses than McIlroy, including the biggest turnaround in Major history.

Greg led all 4 majors after 54 holes in 1986. No wonder he thinks 54 hole tournaments are a good idea. He'd be the only modern grand slam winner in history if tournament golf was 54 holes.

I've always liked Greg and I've always liked Rory. They are far from one dimensional and generally give great interviews full of interesting insights and disclosures (less so from Greg since the whole LIV hoo-ha). And it also provides him from sharing his experiences with Rory as one of the only people who can actually understand Rory's Major predicament.

They are both intelligent and emotional people that probably think too much when an empty mind would be best for pure automatic execution.

blackwhite

They are both intelligent and emotional people that probably think too much when an empty mind would be best for pure automatic execution.

So be more like DJ ?