Columnist image

TSN Senior Reporter

| Archive

After missing the cut at the U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy is hoping he can get things back in gear in the lead-up to the Open Championship. That starts this week at the Travelers Championship, the first time the Northern Irishman has teed it up at this particular event.

McIlroy has played just seven events so far on the PGA Tour and just once on the Euro circuit, his time limited due to a nagging rib injury. That layoff was, he said, part of the reason for his poor performance at Erin Hills.

“In a perfect world, last week wouldn't have been first week back at the U.S. Open,” he said in his press conference at the Travelers. “It's a high-pressure, high-stress sort of event. I just wasn't – I just hit my stride a little too late. I played well the last nine holes on Friday, and I was just trying to shake the rust off before that.”

McIlroy’s last major title came in 2014 at the PGA Championship, when it seemed as if he would sit on top of the golf world for some time. His game was flawless and his confidence high. Although he’s had five top-10 finishes since the last win, he’s also missed the cut three times, including the last two U.S. Opens.

But that is to be expected in this new era of the game. According to the 13-time PGA Tour winner, dominating golf, especially at the majors, is just too tough in this day when the talent pool is so deep.

“Guys aren't afraid to be aggressive and to score,” McIlroy reflected. “I don't necessarily think it's gotten harder. It's always been hard to win a major championship. I just think as you said, the depth of talent out there is as deep as it's ever been. There are a number of factors. The teaching is better, the knowledge is better. There are just more players.”

To that end, Brooks Koepka’s victory at last week’s American championship marked the seventh straight first-time major winner. There’s only been one stretch longer than that. With the likes of Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas, Hideki Matsuyama, Alex Noren, Patrick Reed and John Rahm all looking to break through at one of the big four, it could be some time before there’s a repeat champion.

McIlroy also said that part of the reason for the depth is that golf has switched into a power game, where long hitters seem to own the top of the leaderboard. That wasn’t necessarily the case when Tiger Woods had his run.

“You look at the last few major winners – DJ, Henrik, I mean, Jimmy Walker gets it out there. Sergio and Justin going down the stretch, they don't hit it short, Brooks. It's getting to the point where guys are going to hit driver more often,” McIlroy said.

“I felt like when you watched Tiger dominate, it was a little more of a conservative game and the strategy was a little more where guys say, ‘Okay, I'm going to hit driver, and I'm going to get it down there, and I'm going to be aggressive.’ And if you're on that week with driver, and you can get it down there and you're hitting it in the fairway, the course becomes so much easier. I think that's part of the reason.”

McIlroy, who has plenty of distance off the tee to join those long hitters, has been a professional for a decade now, something that hardly seems possible. Wasn’t it just a short time ago that he appeared on tour with that long, curly hair and chubby cheeks? The exceptionally fit 28-year-old who recently married is satisfied with the first 10 years of his professional life, but is expecting more,

“If I look back over 10 years, am I happy with where my career is at?” he asked himself. “I would say, yes, I guess. But I definitely feel like in the next 10 years, 2018 to 2027, that I can do better.”

That starts this week in Hartford, where he’ll have one eye already looking ahead to Royal Birkdale and the Open Championship.