RORY: I’M GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS
RORY McIlroy’s worst slump in years continued at the FedEx Cup play-offs yesterday and came with a shocking admission. ‘This is going to sound really bad but I feel like the last few weeks I’ve been going through the motions,’ he said. Full marks for honesty but, yes, he’s right — when you’re the defending FedEx Cup champion and the first prize is $15million, it does sound bad. To be fair to McIlroy, he was responding to some equally candid comments from Graeme McDowell about competing each week without spectators. ‘I feel like a zombie right now, I’m playing without soul, and it’s the same atmosphere each week,’ said G-Mac. ‘I need the drug of a Ryder Cup or US Open to get me going.’ Added McIlroy: ‘I want to get an intensity and some sort of fire, but I haven’t been able to. That’s partly to do with the atmosphere and partly to do with how I’m playing. I’m not inspiring myself and I’m not getting inspiration from outside sources, so I can see what Graeme is getting at.’
For the second day running in Boston, McIlroy was playing alongside Tiger Woods, who might never have played a competitive round where he’s just gone through the motions. Rubbish on Saturday, he still came out like a man hell-bent on making amends, birdieing his first four holes. He birdied the ninth as well but the round rather petered out with nine straight pars coming home. Nevertheless, a 66 represented progress following a series of iffy rounds post-lockdown. ‘It’s all about building and getting ready for the US Open, and this was certainly a move in the right direction,’ said Tiger. Before lockdown, McIlroy had seven top-five finishes in a row. Since the resumption, he’s played seven without once finishing inside the top ten. Here, he wasn’t even close, finishing outside the top 60 following a final round of 69. Meanwhile, at the Wales Open, Frenchman Romain Langasque notched his maiden tour victory as Scot Connor Syme missed out for the second successive Sunday at Celtic Manor.