McIlroy falls away again as old failings rise to the surface
Rory’s old failings resurface as Open hopes end on back nine
STANDING on the 10th tee at Royal St George’s yesterday, Rory McIlroy was right where he needed to be to become a serious player in the 149th Open. A scintillating five-birdie front nine of 31 had lifted him to four under par for the championship.
With the back nine playing one and a half shots easier, McIlroy had the motive, means and opportunity to post a number and rattle the cages of Ooothuizen, Spieth and Co.
All around him, players were making hay on the homeward run, with Kevin Streelman, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Talor Gooch among those who took
‘TALK OF PROGRESSION IS STARTING TO WEAR A LITTLE THIN’
just 32 blows. A similar return for McIlroy would have added up to a 63 and a seven under par clubhouse score to tuck under his oxter.
This was the moment for the Wee Ice Mon to remind world golf that he was back, big time. Only, it didn’t happen.
Rather than the kick-ass Rory of 2014, we witnessed the wavering Rory of 2021 as the failings which have held him back re-surfaced.
A short putt for par at the 11th stayed above ground and suddenly all the doubts crept back in. A birdie chance at the 12th slipped past before a run of 5-5-5 at the 13th, 14th and 15th stalled his challenge.
He limped home in 38 blows for a 69 but on one under par, his race this week is run. It’s 26 majors now without a win.
McIlroy spoke afterwards about ‘some diabolical pins out there’ but others on moving day found a way of staying on the right side of the flag, which he didn’t.
‘It was sort of a tale of two nines,’ he said.
‘I played great on the front nine, hit some really good iron shots and converted some putts and really got it going. Then the back nine played tough.
‘They’re sort of tucking the pins away. They’ve stretched the golf course out to as long as it can play.
‘I was hitting two-iron into the 11th hole, the par-three. I missed a short putt there for par and it kind of killed the momentum I had.
‘Not birdieing the par-five and making another couple bogeys on the way in, certainly it felt like a better round than one-under par, but it was encouraging to see some of the golf that I played on that front nine.
‘It’s just a matter of trying to keep that going and try to turn those nine-hole stretches into 18-hole stretches, and then those 18-hole stretches into whole tournaments. It’s getting there.’
Getting there. It’s something we keep hearing from McIlroy, yet it’s starting to wear a little thin.
Between 2011 and 2014, McIlroy was certainly ‘there’, winning four majors and WGCs. He’s not ‘there’ now and hasn’t been for a while.
His seven-year major drought will now extend into 2022, by which time he turns 33. It’s no age really considering Ben Hogan didn’t start winning his nine majors until he was the same age.
But for those who witnessed McIlroy explode on the golfing world a decade ago, there is concern over where he finds himself in the pantheon of the sport.
He insists he’s the happiest man in the world and, at one level, he’s right. He’s a contented family man, with immense wealth and a career CV that glisters.
Sign his final scorecard now and he’d be regarded as one of Europe’s all-time modern greats, third in line to Faldo (six majors) and Ballesteros (five).
The late Seve exploded on the scene as a teenager, soared higher than anyone in his 20s before crash-landing in his early 30s, not helped by recurring back issues.
Ballesteros had immense charisma and wondrous talents, especially around the greens, and many felt he should have added to his five majors.
Unless McIlroy gets a wriggle on, and the work he’s doing with coach Pete Cowen pays a more consistent dividend, they may be saying the same about him.
Padraig Harrington, who squeezed the maximum from his abilities and has one major less than McIlroy, felt he had ‘a low one’ in him, but it didn’t materialise.
Instead, he limped to a humdrum 73 which included a six at the 18th. He’s played the hole in 16 strokes this week and deserves some payback today as he completes his final Open in his 40s.
On four over par, Harrington is among the tail-enders but he’ll keep grafting away to the very end, for he knows no other way.