‘Hungry’ McIlroy hits out at criticism after missing cut
American charges into contention with a 63 Speith slips to four over to end his title hopes
Rory McIlroy insisted he is “hungry” for further success despite a fellow major-winner claiming he is “bored” with golf and content with his millions.
Steve Elkington, the Australian who won the US PGA Championship in 1995, launched his tirade against the world No2 after watching him miss the cut at the US Open here in Wisconsin.
“Rory is so bored playing golf …without Tiger [Woods] the threshold is 4 majors with 100mill in bank,” Elkington tweeted. In response, McIlroy sarcastically tweeted back that his fortune is nearer “200 mill” which is “not bad for a ‘bored’ 28-year-old”. He also posted a list of his achievements, which include four majors, and promised that there is “more of where that came from”.
McIlroy was adamant his ambition remained as fierce as ever. “I am hungry, but I’m not going to force it. I’m going to let it happen. I’m going to play,” McIlroy said, after posting a 71 for a five-over total.
McIlroy put his mediocre performance down to his lack of competitive action in 2017, caused by a rib injury at the start of the year. He came into the season’s second major having played only once in the previous 10 weeks and has now played just 24 rounds all year.
In yesterday’s third round, American Justin Thomas hit a course-record 63 to lead at 11 under par with several players still on the course. His round was the joint-record lowest round in US Open history and, at nine under, the lowest ever in relation to par.
Justin Thomas dared to go where nobody had before in the 122-year history of the US Open here yesterday, posting a nine-under 63 and claiming the record for the lowest-score in relation to par at the game’s toughest major.
The American’s heroics created the biggest din on a idyllic day when Erin Hills was alive to the sound of eagles and birdies. Thomas’s three on the 18th was greeted with raucous cheers from the grandstands and a punch of the fist from the man himself.
This was no moment to think of what-could-have-beens but with nobody having fired a 62 in the majors it was impossible not to. There were two bogeys on his scorecard as well as a missed putt for an eagle on the 15th.
But Thomas was not complaining. When he signed for his 11-under total he had a three-shot lead in the clubhouse.
There were some truly memorable shots in there, not least the drive on the par-four 15th, when he screamed “oh, be as good as you look”. Indeed, it had the substance to go with the looks, coming to rest within a short putt on the par-four green. However, Thomas’s approach on the 18th was yet more spectacular.
From 299 yards, he took on the fescue with a three-wood and conjured it to within seven feet. It was the 31st 63 in major history and just the fifth in US Open history (Johnny Miller’s legendary eight-under 63 at Oakmont in 1973 being the previous lowest to par), yet it says plenty about Thomas’s year that it is four shots worse that his best score this season.
On his way to winning back-to-back titles in Hawaii at the start of the year, Thomas recorded a 59. He is best friends with Jordan Spieth and since his amateur days has long been touted as a future champion. The world No13 is part of this young American golfing revolution and seems ready to take the next step.
On the course, Tommy Fleetwood was flying the flag so proudly for England, going through his first 11 holes in two under to move to within two of Thomas, alongside another couple of Americans in Brendan Steele and Brian Harman. Fleetwood was one of four overnight leaders, along with Paul Casey.
The 39-year-old from Cheltenham birdied the first but then found the high rough to the right of the fourth and from there took two swipes to extricate his ball before succumbing to a seven. It was his second triple-bogey in 17 holes and when he bogeyed the next as well he was down on four under.
That was the mark reached by Eddie Pepperell, after a 69. It has been quite the resurgence for the 26-year-old from Oxfordshire who was minus a European Tour card 12 months ago. He is determined to make the most of the op- portunity. “I’ve got to believe I can win this golf tournament,” he said.
“Most of those guys up there have not won majors either, and although I haven’t won a tournament yet, so what. I’ll be aiming high tomorrow.”
It had been a ridiculously congested leaderboard all day, with at one stage seven sharing the lead and another seven within a shot. But Thomas had thrown down the gauntlet.
His compatriot Patrick Reed had earlier shown what was possible, firing a 65 to move up to eight under. Reed had on his Ryder Cup face, coming over all patriotic as he made the charge at his national championship. Expect Reed to figure today in what could be a classic shootout, with the likes of Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka also featuring as the third round entered its fascinating concluding hours. Who needs the game’s superstars to make the entertainment?
On Friday, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day made history by becoming the first top-three ranked golfers to miss the cut at a major since the rankings began in 1986. And Spieth continued the narrative of the very big names struggling in the hills.
A 76 saw the 2016 champion slip to four over and fall into irrelevance at this championship. The 23-year-old’s wand is malfunctioning.
“I’ve been striking the ball well. It’s just been trying to figure it out on and around the greens,” he said. “And I feel like once the can gets open, I’ll start pouring them in. I’m just thinking a lot about my stroke, stance, stuff you would rather not be thinking about, you’d rather think about line of pace. But I can’t do that yet because I haven’t figured out the other part.”
Spieth will be joined at the Travelers Championship by McIlroy, with the Connecticut event being the first of six tournaments in eight weeks for the Northern Irishman. Paul McGinley, his friend and former Ryder Cup teammate sees the effect of that rib injury, which he sustained at the turn of the year, and the complete change of clubs and ball as the culprits for his miserable campaign.
“It’s obviously disappointing for him. The US Open is probably the toughest test of the four majors, so coming into it having not played a lot of competitive golf was always going to be difficult,” McGinley said, noting that he had only played one competitive event in 10 weeks before arriving here.
“His season has been ravaged by injury so far, so he hasn’t been able get any momentum. You have a different feeling in practice rounds than you do with a scorecard in your hand, and he was adjusting to that competitive feeling again. People also forget that you need time to bed in new equipment, which Rory has with the 14 new clubs and new golf ball.”
McGinley, who is Wisconsin as an analyst for Sky Sports, insists there is not reason to panic. “Rory thrives on his confidence being up and he gets that from competitive play and performances in competitive situations,” he said. “That’s all he needs, as everything else is in place.”
McGinley’s message is clear. Judge McIlroy at the end of August, not now. By then he will have played six of the last eight weeks, including the Open and USPGA. The Southport course should suit and there is no doubt he has the ideal game for Quail Hollow, where the USPGA takes place. It was at the Charlotte course where he won his first US tournament in 2010. There is still enough time left for McIlroy to turn 2017 into a successful year, but this two months will dictate everything.