The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Baltusrol is last chance for major for McIlroy, Spieth
SPRINGFIELD, N.J. » Rory McIlroy took stock of his game and the shots required at Baltusrol and reached a most logical conclusion on July 26. He believes the PGA Championship will be his best chance this year to win a major.
He overlooked the obvious. It now is his only chance this year to win a major. McIlroy is not alone. Except for the three players who have achieved the ultimate in golf this year by winning majors — Danny Willett at the Masters, Dustin Johnson at the U.S. Open and Henrik Stenson at the British Open — the PGA Championship is all they have left.
The focus starts with McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Jason Day. They began the year as the modern version of the “Big Three” because they had captured five of the previous six majors and took turns at No. 1 in the world ranking.
But they have come up empty in the majors — so far.
Spieth is feeling it as much as anyone, mainly because he nearly won them all a year ago with a major performance that ranked among the best ever. So when a question was posed to him on July 26 that expecting 20 more years like that would probably be a tough benchmark, Spieth leaned toward the microphone and interrupted. “Probably?” he said. Even with two victories and a chance at the Masters Lower Course was in remarkably good shape for a full day of practice on July 26 in sweltering conditions that only add to the pressure of players trying to break through.
McIlroy was especially optimistic given the length of Baltusrol, exceptionally long (7,462 yards) for a par 70 that doesn’t have a par 5 until the final two holes. He is among the top power players in the game, and his driving is aesthetically beautiful because of his balance.
McIlroy looks ready to go, and he will find out on July 28 what kind of traction he has.
McIlroy was asked to describe his season in one word, and after some thought, settled on “neutral.”
That’s another way of saying he has been spinning his wheels.
“I feel there’s been times where I got a little bit of momentum, and then sort of got set back a little bit,” he said. “It’s been a little stopstart in a way. .. I’m trying to stay as positive as I can.”