Legends see Rory with Slam some day
Another Masters, another whiff at the career Grand Slam for Rory McIlroy.
Not that it’s over yet. But after McIlroy shot a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday to sit at 3-over for the tournament — well back of the leaders deep in red numbers — the world No. 2 would require a miraculous Sunday run, plus help from collapsing leaders, to leave here with the green jacket. Barring the improbable, that’ll wrap McIlroy’s 10th trip to Augusta National with a chance to become just the sixth man in history to win all four of golf’s majors. Despite finishing second in 2022 and landing in the top five three other times, it looks as though he’ll need at least an 11th try to close the deal.
“All I can do is come here and try my best; that’s what I do every time I show up,” McIlroy said Saturday. “Some years it’s better than others. I’ve just got to keep showing up and try to do the right thing.”
His middling performance came in a week when two of the greatest players in history said McIlroy is destined to join the exclusive club whose only members include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
“No question he’ll do it at some point,” Woods said of McIlroy. “Rory’s too talented, too good. He’s going to be playing this event for a very long time. He’ll get it done; it’s just a matter of when.”
That’s a fair point. Witness the timeless performances of 61-yearold Vijay Singh, 58-year-old José María Olazábal and 53-year-old Phil Mickelson, all of whom made the cut. Mickelson finished second last year.
For all that, the 84-year-old Golden Bear pointed out the level of difficulty will only increase for McIlroy with every passing April.
“As he gets older, (it) gets tougher,” Nicklaus was saying before the tournament. “Because all of a sudden it’s a conversation.”
McIlroy, who’ll turn 35 next month, won’t want to hear this. But as Nicklaus pointed out, just because you’re good enough to win doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Tom Watson, for instance, won eight majors but never got a grip on the PGA Championship trophy despite leading by five shots heading into the final round in 1977. The late Arnold Palmer won seven majors, but was eternally eluded by the PGA, where he finished second three times.
“Is Tom Watson good enough to win the Grand Slam? Absolutely. Was Arnold Palmer good enough to win the Grand Slam? Absolutely,” Nicklaus said. “Is Rory McIlroy good enough to win the Grand Slam? Absolutely. But they have got to do it.
“Do I think Rory will win here? Yeah … He’s just too talented not to. But then again, (Watson and Palmer) were too talented not to win those, too. You just never know.”