2020 Genesis Invitational (Tiger goes for #83 again)

[bscinstnct]

I agree, and the stats show he does not close as well in the later rounds (obviously) as he did in his major years. What's also interesting is that in 2012 and 2014, he was 1st in 1st round scoring. As far as 4rth round scoring, is it possible that the Master's meltdown still gives him some issues? Who knows. But the best way to beat it is to keep getting in those situations. Rory seems sometimes torn between the midsets of "well, whatever happens happens" vs "there is no tomorrow!". But, I think the TW advice, I think he gave it to Nick Whatney is best....

 

I doesn't matter if its a 2 footer for par on Thursday at a regular event or a 6 footer to win a Major on Sunday. You go through the very same thoughts, routine, and process on every single shot.

[bscinstnct]

 

Lol, I just hope TW not the guy who thinks he has to have his protein shake mid workout ; )

[Jay28]

Rory is currently ranked #219 for putts inside 10 foot this season.

2019 he was 36th

2018 he was 64th

2017 he was 163rd

2016 .. 165th

He did better the last 2 years - still by no means near the best - but so far this year he's been awful inside 10 feet.

 

As far as world rankings are concerned, you really only need to look how it is calculated to know it doesn't really represent the best golfer.

Rory is no doubt a fantastic player and one of my favourite golfers, but his short putting lets him down. If he improved he would get back to winning majors.

 

[tiderider]

that 2000 year ... jc ...

[OldTomMorris]

I'd like to hear the case against Rory being the current No.1. The OWGR is an imperfect system and at times its very debatable but the current top ranking definitely reflects the current best golfer in the game.

[OrangeGravy]

Making them early doesn't guarantee any cushion. You can make them ALL early and still be behind. As for golf, the early putts could be for par/bogey and not birdie, giving you no cushion

[golfer07840]

"Rory can't close" -- He's won 4 majors and a Players Championship. This is such a false Narrative. He had, literally, ONE bad hole on Sunday.

[dwboston]

And Adam Scott botched the same hole as well. Besides that one hole, Rory's only problem Sunday was holing putts on those tricky greens, and he wasn't alone there.

[TimK1]

I'm totally happy for Adam Scott. I love his game. I always have. The tour is better with a good Adam Scott.

Rory is a top player in the game. We have all gotten spoiled by the amount of Majors Tiger has. Most top notch guys will not win more than 4 to maybe 10 majors in there lifetime. Rory already has four at the age of thirty. Brooks might win a couple more. DJ is done. He might have one more in him.

These guys already have had hall a fame careers. Rory does know how to close. Some suggest he does not? Now Finau does NOT! I said that on other posts and everybody jumped down my throat. Most these guys, the upper tier players won't win more than twenty times in their career. Maybe throw in another twenty or so world wide but that's it.

Just shows you how great Tiger is and Phil for that matter. Over 40 wins is amazing. Greg Norman, over 80 wins worldwide.

[golfer07840]

Your point about Tiger is a great one. He set the bar so high it's ridiculous to think anyone will even come close to that in our lifetime.

[bscinstnct]

Of course he can close but.....The ONE bad hole is the big issue with him. He is not the worst choker on Sunday and he can definitely keep it rolling and blow out the field. But, he also has problems, not sure if it's lapses in concentration or what but you can go back to the Masters blow up to see the difference between him and a guy like Jack. Some guys, very rare, can get even better on Sunday, they just keep their focus, and let everyone else fall apart. They love the pressure.

 

Rory gets rolling and he can't be stopped. But, he is prone to blow ups. That happens but he doesn't recover as well as he could. Now, it's not fair to compare to TW but here is an example....

 

1997 Masters, Thursday, TW shoots a 40 on the front nine *including bogeys on 8 and 9. Dead. Then, something happens, he completely gets a hold of himself and his game. Birdies 9, then lights it up and he shoots 30 coming in to finish -2. Goes on to shoot -18. Compare to,

2019 Open Championship. Rory blows up the first hole and shoots a 39. Then he settles down a little with 6 straight pars. Then he makes a double on 16 and a triple on 18 to shoot 40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[golfer07840]

Rory reminds me of a race car driver who can get into a groove between the car and the circuit and run some excellent laps. But then something happens, as you mention, and suddenly he lost his lines and he's not taking the turns properly and he is losing tenths of a second on every lap and suddenly he's losing.

IMO, his biggest fault is his wedge game. He just doesn't hit them as close as you'd think someone with his talent would. He's usually so good with the driver, you wonder if that plays into it.

[TimK1]

His wedge game is weak for his status. I always felt the same with J Day. His wedge game is weak. For Rory being number one in the world he is not as multi dimensional as Tiger. None of them are. J Thomas is to one dimentional also. So is B Koepka.

Tiger has all the shots. Low, High, cuts, draws. His distance control is awesome. I always felt that is the reason none of these guys stay number one for very long. They just don't have the full gamet of shots for them to play well week in and week out in all conditions and golf courses.

Yes, they get hot for awhile and play well, they reach number one but they can't keep it up year over year or even for a full season it seems.

[Darth Putter]

People should quit trying to compare everyone coming up to Jack and Tiger. If you compare Rory's "choking" to all time greats like Palmer, Watson, Seve and Snead, suddenly he doesn't look out of place at all. Even Brooks let a couple get away in 2019 and almost kicked away a third.

[MMB1500]

Unfortunately that's invariably McIlroy's problem when the heat is on on a Sunday in a tournament he cares about. At least since his last major win 5 years ago, that is.

Sometimes he manages to get out of his own way (usually when he doesn't care about the result) but more often than not he plays scared, tentative golf and starts making mistakes.

This is McIlroy's typical Sunday performance in a nutshell. https://www.golfdigest.com/story/masters-2018-rory-mcilroys-putter-betrayed-him-at-the-worst-time