Is Rory still the best player in the world?

[tbowles411]

What does this even mean anymore?  There are guys that get hot at any given time.  The #1 ranking means little when it changes as fast as the calendar.  But in short, the answer is no.

[smashdn]

On 8/10/2020 at 5:17 AM, Holy Moses said:

There is no standout #1 right now. JT, Bryson, Brooks, Rory, Rahm, and Morikawa are going to be a revolving #1 soon. It’s useless to say “If X player has his A game, he’s unbeatable” since most players have their A games for a short time not named Tiger Woods in his prime and the players don’t have their A games simultaneously to judge.

 

13 hours ago, tbowles411 said:

What does this even mean anymore?  There are guys that get hot at any given time.  The #1 ranking means little when it changes as fast as the calendar.  But in short, the answer is no.

 

It's just how the math is working at the top.  Lots of parity at the top.  You have periods like this.  It is not wrong or bad, we are just accustomed to players going to #1 and staying there because we see the ranking through the lens of the Tiger era.  Tiger to me is the outlier. 

 

I could be wrong on this but it seemed like Tiger played a lot of tournaments as well.  And it sort of goes without saying that winning and finishing high often only strengthens the math in the formula used to calculate that.  I would guess there were very few of the 683 weeks he was number one where anyone in the field had a mathematical chance at supplanting him.

 

https://www.pgatour.com/stats/stat.ATR858.html

Median is 29

Mean is 74.25

[bscinstnct]

On 8/11/2020 at 5:09 AM, ColinKelvin said:

I don't think there is a clear #1 just now, at all. This is a really interesting interim period where there are lots of contenders, as the PGA leaderboard just showed.
Rory's weird claim a while back that he'd always win over 100 rounds (?!) also seems a) dodgy and b) irrelevant when his major drought is now 6 years and counting. Rory McIlroy: 'I had to take a long, hard look at myself after Portrush'“I am obviously good enough, I can win World Golf Championships and FedEx Cups. If we played 100-round tournaments I would come out on top every time as shown by my stroke average, strokes gained and stats. But tournaments are over four. It’s putting those four together.”
Lol.

 

Exactly! I saw that.

 

Can I you imagine TW thinking this way? For him, in his prime, anything less than a win is crap!

Not everyone can be like that but Rory has the talent that maybe if he thought no result was acceptable accept a victory, it would impact how he approaches things. 
 

Easy for me to say and I can’t fault Rory at all. TW very rare type of person. 

 

[smashdn]

I seem to think Rotella has had a take on that "win or nothing" mindset.  I'll have to do some searching to find it.

 

Is coming in second losing?  I mean you likely beat 155-175 other of the top golfers in the world who were in the field.  It's certainly not a win but it is far from a complete failure too.

[Pent08]

Depends what you're measuring and how far out you go.

This was Rory last year on the PGA TOUR

Events: 19

Wins: 3

Top 10: 14 (74%)

Top 25 : 16 (84%)

Strokes Gained : 1st

Scoring Average :1st

Fedex Cup: 1st

 

 

[bladehunter]

Still DJ if he gets out of his own way. 

[Rob G 89]

Bryson once he fixes his wedges, instead of asking who will win it will be how many will Bryson win by this week. Plus with a full schedule he will only play tournaments suited to his game. 

[llewol007]

No, Tiger Woods is the best in the world!! He still alive and still playing. 

[taporsnap17]

No, but the answer to that question is (to use the term these days) "fluid".

 

Like any of the say, top 10 in the world, if any of them catch fire they are the best in the world.

[Jackhammer993]

I would rate JT higher at this time. I think when the gallery’s come back Rory will get back into it but he needs the people. 

[golfho50]

On 8/10/2020 at 8:24 PM, MUNIGRIT said:

Definitely No. Thomas would be my pick as of right now but can't argue that nobody is olaying better than Collin M.

The Euros all olay olay olay better than Collin M.

[NJpatbee]

Rory was my pick for #1 before the abbreviated season started but he has not come close to my expectation. There is no clear #1 today with a number of excellent golfers able to get hot for a month or two.  But a Tiger or Jack are rarities and there is no one that can dominate the game today the way they (and a few of the old timers) did for years at a time. We are in between and waiting for the next Tiger but there is some great golf being played every weekend, but not by the same person.

Edited August 23, 2020 by NJpatbee

[Titleist_PT23]

Apparently, Rory is lacking some intensity and fire.

 

“This is going to sound really bad,” McIlroy said before saying something that did not, in fact, sound really bad. Just honest. “I feel like the last few weeks, I’ve just been going through the motions. I want to get an intensity and some sort of fire, but I just haven’t been able to. And look, that’s partly to do with the atmosphere and partly to do with how I’m playing. I’m not inspiring myself, and I’m trying to get inspiration from outside sources to get something going.”

[jons1]

He looked like the next huge major winning player in golf... then it just stopped.  But there were girls, cashed a giant check from Nike, went through multiple equipment and ball changes.  Sometimes when you get that life changing contract, and you like to do something as much as golf, you're just not quite as hungry.

 

[gvogel]

On 8/23/2020 at 8:57 PM, agolf1 said:

Apparently, Rory is lacking some intensity and fire.

 

“This is going to sound really bad,” McIlroy said before saying something that did not, in fact, sound really bad. Just honest. “I feel like the last few weeks, I’ve just been going through the motions. I want to get an intensity and some sort of fire, but I just haven’t been able to. And look, that’s partly to do with the atmosphere and partly to do with how I’m playing. I’m not inspiring myself, and I’m trying to get inspiration from outside sources to get something going.”

His attitude, which has been suspect in the past, sucks at the moment.  But if could start seeing a bunch of putts drop, his attitude would improve in a hurry.

Putting is his achilles heel.  It puts pressure on the rest of his game, especially his fairway wedge play.

[J_Tizzle]

Might be Webb...

[ConcernedBoutCOVID]

he does not have the killer instinct

 

would take Daniel Berger over him right now

[Texas1]

19 hours ago, golfpros1 said:

He looked like the next huge major winning player in golf... then it just stopped.  But there were girls, cashed a giant check from Nike, went through multiple equipment and ball changes.  Sometimes when you get that life changing contract, and you like to do something as much as golf, you're just not quite as hungry.

 

Don’t forget it was the caddies fault ?

Don’t forget it was all the balls fault?

Now it’s no crowds ?

He chased the endorsement cheques instead of majors. At least he’ll die rich and be remembered for something ?

[Thayneil]

On 8/10/2020 at 4:41 PM, Dave230 said:

I wonder was Rory was too good early and didn’t have a proper childhood and college years and he’s almost trying to overcompensate now.

He left school at 16 pretty much to play full-time golf and it wasn’t because he wasn’t intelligent. Most of the other top players certainly finished school at the very least and had a bit of college life.

It is great to enrich your life by reading but maybe Rory has too much perspective for top level golf if that’s such a thing. Great for life but not for winning major tournaments, where you need to be delusional and believe this is the most important thing in the world even when it isn’t.

yet Rory  is intelligent and does delightful interviews

 

And being a Brit and well travelled has a fairly balanced view of the world

[J13]

Rory is obviously a top 10 player every year but i think the media (and fans) are too quick to put the crown on a players head because we've been spoiled with Jack and Tiger.  Look at Speith for example, same deal.  It's easy to get excited when a player has a hot stretch and looks invincible but no one has been able to maintain that level for years except the two players above.

[gvogel]

Rory be waiting for Augusta in November.

[J13]

6 hours ago, gvogel said:

Rory be waiting for Augusta in November.

 

It would be great to see him get a Masters.  We shall see.

[capking]

JT is definitely up there, I just personally don’t care for him for various reasons. But for entertainment factor when they are dominating Rahm or DJ. Rahm has the fire and DJ the swagger

[golfho50]

No. Its DJ...for now.

[mizuno player]

To me it's DJ. I know it's easy to say now. His wedges game is better than Rory's. At least more consistent. 

[J13]

In 2020 it's been JT first half of the year and DJ the second half.  

[QuigleyDU]

Rory is still one of the best. But this year was not his best.. Will be interesting to watch what happens now that his family is growing. 

[nsxguy]

On 8/11/2020 at 5:09 AM, ColinKelvin said:

I don't think there is a clear #1 just now, at all. This is a really interesting interim period where there are lots of contenders, as the PGA leaderboard just showed.
Rory's weird claim a while back that he'd always win over 100 rounds (?!) also seems a) dodgy and b) irrelevant when his major drought is now 6 years and counting. Rory McIlroy: 'I had to take a long, hard look at myself after Portrush'“I am obviously good enough, I can win World Golf Championships and FedEx Cups. If we played 100-round tournaments I would come out on top every time as shown by my stroke average, strokes gained and stats. But tournaments are over four. It’s putting those four together.”
Lol.

 

That's pretty funny.

 

If Koepka had said that ?!?!?!  Head for the bomb shelters.