What is up with Rory McIlroy?

[Draw Driver]

His downward trajectory seems to be accelerating. His comments after today’s Second Round at The Player’s were brutally honest; chasing speed, distance and in his own words, “to the detriment of his swing.” 

 

He sounds officially lost and man enough to admit it. That’s a good place to start. I was going to post some stats but let’s start here. 
 

Where does he go from here?  
 

Can he get out of it? 
 

Do you see big changes coming; coach, caddy, swing back to what it was or something different? 

 

He’s under pressure; his own and apparently Bryson’s. 
 

This is Golf WRX after all...is Rory done? 
 

Have at it. 
 

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by Draw Driver

[vbb]

He's just in a slump and he can get out of it. He is one of the most talented people on tour and has been for a decade. That all said, I am surprised and a bit disappointed that "chasing speed and distance" is something that is messing him up. Of all people, that is NOT his need. He's plenty long, and he isn't getting beat by guys that are longer than him. If Morikawa said he was chasing distance that might make sense, but Rory?

 

He's a hot putter away from winning again. I'm not worried about him.

[sonnygolf]

He got married and lost his balls - needs permisson to play golf and has to be back homme before 3pm 

[DLBTide7]

One of the things I love about Rory is his candor. It is so rare in the sport to hear someone stand up and admit that they messed up their swing for any reason.... and for one of the game’s great drivers of the ball to admit he messed it up because he was chasing speed, driven by BAD, is brutally candid. 
 

He will get it fixed; hopefully in time for Augusta. 

[bladehunter]

Well @Shilgy and Wrx.  I was wrong. They will turn on anybody if they turn down.  Not just Jordan Spieth.  Now it’s Rory’s turn to get canned.  
 

 

 

my thoughts on it is that he simply  needs to spend a week not thinking distance.  Hit fairways and greens. And putt.  Not everyone can swing full bore and keep their game. I’m one who cannot.  My iron game etc is based on a smooth slow rhythm.  Trying to nuke everything leads to bad bad things . Im sure That's all that Rory’s issue is. He just needs a reminder that his smooth driver flies 320.  And that’s more than enough.  Put the KK Tini back in the driver and roll on.  

Edited March 13, 2021 by bladehunter

[Neo1]

33 minutes ago, sonnygolf said:

He got married and lost his balls - needs permisson to play golf and has to be back homme before 3pm 

LMAO

[KRAMER1997]

Lol was waiting for this thread. If Dustin misses a cut in the next month there will be a thread what is wrong with Dustin

[shoot4par]

1. He was in contention last week. 

2. He's made $68,000,000 on tour, hardly a journeyman. 

3. He's married and has a 8 month old. 

4. He's 11th in the world at his chosen profession. 

 

Think he'll be fine. No one need hit the panic button, he hasn't fallen out of the top 25. That being said putter's rough and he's got one of those actions that requires impeccable timing. 

 

 

[grm24]

https://golf.com/news/rory-mcilroy-sucked-in-speed-race-bryson/

 

Good read for those that actually care.

[jvincent]

Since we're armchair caddying, I'll chime in.

 

Either because of stubbornness or pride I think Rory's gapping in his irons is wrong. I think he has such big gaps at the low end of the bag that he has to hit too many partial swings. Yes, he's a tour pro with a crap-ton of talent, but having to hit so many partials is contributing to a lot of misses with scoring clubs.

 

IMO he should sacrifice a club or two at the top end of the bag and tighten up his full swing gapping at the low to middle end.

[jomatty]

He will be OK.  He’s had a terrible tournament, is down, and open enough to admit it. One week ago he was in contention before having a bad day so it’s not like he’s that far off, despite the abysmal performance this week. He will work his way through it.

Edited March 13, 2021 by jomatty

[mizuno player]

I don't know but I think Jordan is playing well. I would say if he's not back he's close. So I would yes he can get it back. 

 

What?

Wrong thread this is about Rory? 

Oh my bad. 

I'll see myself out. 

 

Seems like this subject could be pinned. 

 

[Fairways_and_Greens]

2021 Rory is on life support. He's be intubated. The only cure is more cowbell fans in attendance.

[DancingInTheDark]

1 hour ago, vbb said:

He's just in a slump and he can get out of it. He is one of the most talented people on tour and has been for a decade. That all said, I am surprised and a bit disappointed that "chasing speed and distance" is something that is messing him up. Of all people, that is NOT his need. He's plenty long, and he isn't getting beat by guys that are longer than him. If Morikawa said he was chasing distance that might make sense, but Rory?

 

He's a hot putter away from winning again. I'm not worried about him.

Him being back equates to winning once or max twice a year.

 

He'll never get back to the heights of 2014.

[MUNIGRIT]

His solution is simple. Dump everyone including his caddy, agent and swing coach. Get in the WRX and he will be solved in no time along with getting a caddie and agent here.

[DancingInTheDark]

1 minute ago, MUNIGRIT said:

His solution is simple. Dump everyone including his caddy, agent and swing coach. Get in the WRX and he will be solved in no time along with getting a caddie and agent here.

Wait, Diamond wasn't a WRXer?

[bscinstnct]

11 minutes ago, MUNIGRIT said:

His solution is simple. Dump everyone including his caddy, agent and swing coach. Get in the WRX and he will be solved in no time along with getting a caddie and agent here.

 

 

 

 

 

We get Rory on track in no time.

 

First, send him back home to his Mommas house. Live more Spartan. Play golf in the rain. Eat some potatoes.

 

Get hungry again.

 

How he gonna be hungry sleepin in a palace eatin avocado 🥑 toast?

 

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by bscinstnct

[shoot4par]

47 minutes ago, bscinstnct said:

We get Rory on track in no time.

 

First, send him back home to his Mommas house. Live more Spartan. Play golf in the rain. Eat some potatoes.

 

Get hungry again.

 

How he gonna be hungry sleepin in a palace eatin avocado 🥑 toast?

 

 

 

 

Train me Mick? Lets go back to the old gym.  😂

[tanker44]

Everyone is chasing speed.

 

Rory always has something going on.  Maybe he just needs a weekend watching Harry Potter movies.

[iBanesto]

• 3 top 10 finishes
• 5 top 20 finishes

 

In 6 events for 2021.

 

It is not Spieth downfall level yet 😂

[Holy Moses]

1 hour ago, KRAMER1997 said:

Lol was waiting for this thread. If Dustin misses a cut in the next month there will be a thread what is wrong with Dustin

It’s one thing if we were just speculating. But Rory himself is saying this. He’s really unhappy with his game.

[Draw Driver]

6 minutes ago, Holy Moses said:

It’s one thing if we were just speculating. But Rory himself is saying this. He’s really unhappy with his game.

This is why I felt it was needed at this point, given his acknowledgment of it and the specifics from today. 
 

[bscinstnct]

11 minutes ago, iBanesto said:

• 3 top 10 finishes
• 5 top 20 finishes

 

In 6 events for 2021.

 

It is not Spieth downfall level yet 😂

 

Just took a quick look at Rory owgr over the past 6 years.

 

Hes pretty much perennial top 5 and stretches at #1 and #2-#3

 

After the AP he dropped to #11. He’s right behind 

 

Webb Simpson.
 

This MC won’t help...
 

 

 

 

[Obee]

So I'm not interested in one year, but what are the trends in his stats over the last couple/few years that need addressing? Where is he losing strokes to the field and our gaining less than he used to?

[Nosebuckle]

41 minutes ago, iBanesto said:

• 3 top 10 finishes
• 5 top 20 finishes

 

In 6 events for 2021.

 

It is not Spieth downfall level yet 😂

 

We can expand on this to show how ridiculous the premise is. Going back to the BMW Championship last year where he finished T12, he hadn't finished worse than T21 and (before this week) only missed a single cut at the Genesis a few weeks ago. Before missing the Genesis cut, his last MC was the 2019 US Open (won 4 times in 2019). He was pretty lackluster during the first few months of the 2020 Covid restart but otherwise the idea he's on some downward spiral is pretty amusing.

[Holy Moses]

27 minutes ago, Obee said:

So I'm not interested in one year, but what are the trends in his stats over the last couple/few years that need addressing? Where is he losing strokes to the field and our gaining less than he used to?

His SG: Approach is terrible this season. By far worst of his career. 

[Holy Moses]

4 minutes ago, Nosebuckle said:

 

We can expand on this to show how ridiculous the premise is. Going back to the BMW Championship last year where he finished T12, he hadn't finished worse than T21 and (before this week) only missed a single cut at the Genesis a few weeks ago. Before missing the Genesis cut, his last MC was the 2019 US Open (won 4 times in 2019). He was pretty lackluster during the first few months of the 2020 Covid restart but otherwise the idea he's on some downward spiral is pretty amusing.

Rory is amused

[KRAMER1997]

21 minutes ago, Obee said:

So I'm not interested in one year, but what are the trends in his stats over the last couple/few years that need addressing? Where is he losing strokes to the field and our gaining less than he used to?

Based on what I've seen from him in 2020 and '21 so far, it seems like it's mostly poor iron play, which in turn puts a lot of pressure on his putting.  His proximity to the hole stats for the past 2 years are as follows: 2021=171st on tour, 2020=142nd on tour.  Definitely not the iron player he was back in 2014. 

[Philomathesq]

Let me preface my comments with this: I'm currently a bitter human being due to work preventing me from playing golf and/or partaking in any sort of real life for the past several months, so my current predisposition is to take the cynical viewpoint. With that out of the way...

 

While I don't think the sky is falling for Rory, I do think his best days are behind him. His personal life has clearly taken a much larger role in his priorities (no gripe here) and seems to have had an oversized effect on his game. Moreover, his general attitude seems to be lacking a true winner's mindset.

 

What I heard in his interview (and here comes the cynic) was him blaming his issues on himself, but also buttressing that with outside influences in a "it's not my fault" way. His comments, to me, came off as an attempt to blame his decision to chase speed on Bryson's dominating performance at Winged Foot, and his veiled attempt to take a dig at Bryson for using single-length irons. It seems like every time Rory talks about his problems, he has to mention someone or something else as a catalyst.

 

He's still one of the best golfers in the world, but his best days are behind him. He may pull out another Major, but I don't believe he will seriously compete for many wins going forward. 

[ebrasmus21]

11 hours ago, tanker44 said:

Everyone is chasing speed.

 

Rory always has something going on.  Maybe he just needs a weekend watching Harry Potter movies.

Only movies 6, 7a and 7b are worth watching (if you’re reading this Rors).  The other movies deviate from the books far too much