Rory McIlroy - 4 Time Major Winner

blackcard

After a level par round with 6 bogeys including missed putts from 3 and 4 feet, Rory struggling again. A wedge from 110 yards ending up 36 feet from the hole at the first. A wedge from 95 yards at the second ended up 35 yards from the hole??? Got that to 9 feet but missed the par putt. I hope that I am wrong but I can't see Rory competing ever again. The harder he tries, the worse it gets. Afraid that the issues are in his head.

Mantis Toboggan

Hopefully getting all the bogeys out of the way this week.

blackcard

A wedge from 124 yards ends up 22 yards from the hole, another bogey and 3 strokes outside the cut line. No part of Rory's game is in good shape

DellyBelly

Unfortunately I just can't see Rory have any chance next week. I hope I'm wrong but he's just so inconsistent at the moment....I still wonder would a change of caddy change anything. Since Harry is on the bag he hadn't contested in any majors...

goldenmick

His heads mashed and he's got the golfers equivalent of what every darts player dreads... "dartitis", or the yips. It seems the harder he tries the worse he plays. And today he's played worse than a local club pro. The sad thing is that absolutely loads of the top players have swerved this competition and Rory should be making hay in this type of reduced quality field.

He's not consistent now in any manner or form, and what makes it so much worse is that every time I back him he plays absolute shite. You only get skinny odds on him anyway as the bookies lay his price based on his performances of years ago, rather than current performances. I've wagered on him for the last time.

AyeGer

16-1 at the min, not great odds but he really should be more like 30-1.

goldenmick

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118868924#Comment_118868924

I'd say more like 50/1.

I'd like to see him do well at The Masters but I just can't see it. His game is wildly erratic and all over the place, and he's playing as if his nerves are shot to pieces. One over for the four par 5's today, and not making the cut in a really sub-standard field with loads of top names not playing is truly abysmal and a new low for him.

Mantis Toboggan

Missing the cut might not be a bad thing, gives him a chance to get back down to Augusta early. Would be surprised if he contends next week but stanger things have happened.

Dr Devious

There’s a complete obsession with McIllroy here and in the states, he’s not the messiah and hasn’t been for a long time. Unless it’s handed to him he can’t do it anymore, at the first sign of pressure he usually backtracks, he doesn’t seem to any desire or fight in him whatsoever and then on the final round when he’s well out of it he’ll shoot a 63 or 64, too late. The chasing pack has long caught up with him and he’s just a good player now, one of about 25 with another 2 or 3 newcomers ever year.

Brendan Bendar

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118869579#Comment_118869579

Correct…… biggest problem is his approach shots…not near consistent enough

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118869579#Comment_118869579

Media are obsessed with him, in fairness he is the most successful Irish golfer of all time and we'll be be waiting a while before someone from these shores passes him so I get why they are obsessed. I suppose he can't control the media.

BoardsMember

It's the mental side of the game that's the issue. The wedge play is a symptom.

I wonder what might have happened if he had stuck with Horizon. I'm not sure having someone like his Dad and himself running the management company is a great call.

He obviously has lots of ability but I think he's made a complete balls of his career and its going to be very hard for him to turn it around.

rooney30

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118870416#Comment_118870416

“ made a complete balls of his career”. Lol

The Big Easy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118871872#Comment_118871872

Sure he's but one step removed form running a proshop!

BoardsMember

Fanboys aside, most people can see that potential versus achievement shows McIlroy is nowhere near where he should be in his career.

rooney30

You can make that argument for pretty much any tour golfer in their 30s

eagle eye

Looks to me like he's really lacking belief in himself right now. He seems to be swinging harder than he ever did too.

I'd be telling him to play within himself and not go for anything. One step back to try make two steps forward type of thing.

slave1

Poor ole Rory, will he ever get to enjoy Master's week with that monkey on his back

AyeGer

I would love to see him just go out and swing it, less technical thoughts and just play naturally. He has the talent.

And he should avoid the media where possible next week. They do him more harm than good these days.

The Guru 123

There must be no sportsman in the world who gets as much amateurs' psycho analysis as Rory. For example the last few comments above, "his mental game is weak" "he's swinging too hard", "play naturally". All nonsense.

None of us know what's going on in his head or what's causing his mistakes and poor rounds beyond the physical parts of his game we can actually see. It's fairly clear he has a problem with his wedge game and his driving, which much of his early success was based on. What's causing it, none of us have a notion. Maybe his technique is poor with the wedges, maybe it's a mental thing, maybe he's not practicing enough (no chance it's this I would have thought)

Or another one that's always trotted out is the caddy, none of us have a clue how good or bad any caddy on tour is really, there's no reason to think in my opinion there'd be any material change in performance as a result of a change in caddy. Maybe there would but I've often heard people repeat it as a fact that he'd do better with a "proper" caddy on the bag. What makes someone a proper caddy is generally less well defined by these same people.

or the best of all "made a complete balls of his career". 32 professional wins, 4 majors, former world number 1, currently ranked in the top 10 in the world. No other active tour player (counting Phil and Tiger as not being active anymore) can come anywhere near that list of achievements. To paraphrase what was once said to another great Northern Irish sportsman, "where did it all go wrong?"

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118877724#Comment_118877724

Don’t kid yourself, head over to the football threads and you will find lots of opinions from fans on the mentality of their teams, go over to the Tiger thread and you will find the same. There are two good reasons why posters give opinions about Mcilroy, firstly it’s the Rory Mcilroy thread, secondly, it’s obvious he has the talent yet repeatedly plays like he doesn’t, so the 6 inches between his ears, it is fair to assume, has a bearing on his play.

The other Irishman you refer to was George Best, though unintentionally I’m sure, you probably couldn’t have used a better example of someone who struggled with the psychological aspect of fame, talent, weight of expectation, and the affect it had on his decision making, performance and ultimately addiction/death. And it was not unusual for people to analyse the link between his mental issues and his performances during and after his career, even though he won a lot at a young age, and conclude that his talent deserved a lot more than he achieved, as you put it, like another Northern Irish sportsman.

Mantis Toboggan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118878184#Comment_118878184

This "he's more talented than everyone else" talk is what I don't understand and not sure where it comes from, reality is he's no more talented than any of the other players at the top, I'd even argue that Shane Lowry is possibly more talented.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118878203#Comment_118878203

Maybe that’s the issue, he doesn’t do routine, it’s either brilliant or awful, both ends illicit extreme responses, he’s either the most gifted or wasting his talent. A more balanced view may be that he can be both.

OEP

I think the only people that use the "he's more talented than anyone else" talk anymore are the Sky pundits and people on this forum who like to roll it out to then have a go

The Big Easy

"Most talented", especially when it comes to golf, is one of those nebulous terms that can't really be measured.

But Rory has objectively one of the greatest golf swings in history. It's a thing of beauty, Rory in full flow is the best golf has had to offer in the post-Tiger era.

IAmTitleist

When Rory is in "full flow" and on his A+ game I don't think anyone can compete with it.

Unfortunately his A game has become and is becoming more and more rare.

callaway92

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118878869#Comment_118878869

Nah - Rahm beats his A+ Game now I think

AyeGer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118877724#Comment_118877724

It’s interesting the way some people get very defensive about Rory. He doesn’t need your protection Guru, he won’t be reading this anyway. It’s a Rory McIlroy thread so people are going to analyse his performances. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Part of the interest in sport is the analysis and heated discussions people have over it, we see it in pubs up and down the country after a match talking about GAA, Man Utd, Liverpool etc. What exactly is wrong with that?

Btw he has said himself in the past when asked by a journalist that he had gotten too technical in some aspects of his game. So nothing wrong with saying he should play a more free flowing game. He has said the same himself in the past.

IAmTitleist

I mean obviously you can make an argument that when a number of players, notably Rahm, DJ, Morikawa, Brooks are on their top game then they can't be beat.

It's only my opinion that if Rory was at his very best then he trumps the others at their very best. All the above you would have to say are more consistent than McIlroy but then it's only Brooks who can equal his major haul.

Great pic. Paddy's on Tour as Lowry says.