McIlroy is seeking inspiration and title
Rory McIlroy joined an illustrious list when he won the 2015 Match Play Championship at Harding Park, a course with a long history of producing bigname champions.
Byron Nelson won two events at Harding in the 1940s. The Lucky International Open offered a stream of accomplished winners in the ’60s, including Gary Player, Ken Venturi and Billy Casper. Tiger Woods won at Harding in 2005.
McIlroy, during his news conference Wednesday morning ahead of the PGA Championship, traced this trend to the course testing all parts of a player’s game: from shaping tee shots both ways to evading the towering cypress trees lining the fairways.
“I think it’s maybe a little bit of a coincidence that the top players come here and win most of the time,” McIlroy said. “But I think it says a lot about the course — it lets guys play and lets them sort of have the freedom to go out there and play the way they want.”
McIlroy arrived at Harding Park this week seeking some inspiration. He was rolling before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered golf and other sports, with six consecutive topfive finishes — including winning a World Golf Championship event in China — dating to October 2019.
But McIlroy hasn’t posted one top10 in his five starts since the PGA Tour resumed in June. He has finished in the top 30 only once, at the Travelers Championship (tie for 11th).
“Before the world sort of shut down, I was playing some really good golf,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “And then having that threemonth break, everything sort of changed. Everything feels different, in the competitive arena, anyway.
“But my game doesn’t feel that far away. I feel like I’ve played pretty well. … I haven’t been as efficient as I was back then. My short game hasn’t quite been as sharp.”
McIlroy, 31, wants nothing more than to end the barrage of questions about his drought in major championships. He won four majors by age 25, an astounding feat, but he hasn’t won any since taking the 2014 PGA Championship.
Make no mistake: McIlroy’s resume still sparkles, with 18 PGA Tour victories and nine other international wins. Even so, majors define a golfer’s legacy — and his onetime express ride toward historic territory has all but come to a halt.
“It doesn’t keep me up at night, but it’s something I’m obviously reminded of when I play these major championships,” McIlroy said. “Look, I would have liked to have won a couple more majors in that time frame. I feel like I’ve had a couple of decent chances; just didn’t get the job done.
“But the good thing is we have at least three opportunities this year, and then hopefully four opportunities next year. So we’re playing seven majors in the next 12 months, basically. I’ve got plenty of opportunities coming my way.”
One of McIlroy’s best chances came in the 2018 British Open, when he tied for second, two shots behind Francesco Molinari. McIlroy, a twotime PGA Championship winner, tied for eighth in last year’s PGA at Bethpage Black in suburban New York.