TULSA, OKLAHOMA | Familiar to the point of predictable.
Rory McIlroy rattled the backdoor at the PGA Championship on Sunday. It was like Thursday all over again – or Sunday at Augusta last month – with McIlroy storming out of the gates at Southern Hills with four consecutive birdies on Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5. He shot from T17 all the way to T5 before the final groups had even left the practice range.
For a moment, this felt possible. A 64 or 63 or perhaps a tournament-record 62 might be enough for McIlroy to steal away with his third Wanamaker Trophy. There was no world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler sitting at the top unflappable. Five of the six players at the top of the 54-hole leaderboard had fewer prior combined major-championship starts among them than the 27 of sixth man Matt Fitzpatrick. The man to beat, Mito Pereira, was playing his first PGA Championship and wasn’t even a PGA Tour player this time last year.
Surely they all could hear McIlroy’s prominent footsteps. Fellow Irishman Shane Lowry noticed what McIlroy was doing on the leaderboards early Sunday.
“It’s an interesting leaderboard,” Lowry said when he finished. “I think Rory … if he can post 5 or 6 (under) he’ll definitely ask a question. The other guys up there are not serial winners, and they won’t be happy to see him up there.”
Southern Hills, however, is not a course designed for chasing. And when a gap as large as nine shots and so many names are between you and the top, you can’t afford even the smallest hiccup.
“The armchair golfers don’t realize how hard it is out here. ... I saw a quote from (McIlroy) from last week where he hasn’t won a major since 2014 but he has pretty much done everything else you have to do in the world of golf. So it’s not like he’s in a slump."
Shane Lowry
McIlroy’s momentum came to a thud – or more literally, a chunk – on the par-3 sixth that was also the beginning of his derailment on Saturday. Flaring his tee shot on the par-3 wide right and well away from the hazard he found the day before, McIlroy chunked his chip. His long par-save putt never had a chance.
When his long birdie putt on the seventh slowly lipped out, the moment he hoped to conjure seemed gone. His hopes were buried under a train of 10 consecutive pars that left him no closer than he was after five holes. A bogey on the driveable 17th didn’t really matter at that point.
He left Southern Hills without comment on the weekend, without a trophy and without any of the excuses he’s had lately. Quick start? Check (5-under 65 led first round). Favorable draw? Check (failing to capitalize with a second-round 71 when the players surging past him were painting the board red with birdies). Low-pedigree challengers? Check (the leaderboard more resembled a John Deere Classic than a major championship).
As golfers say, it was all right there in front of him and McIlroy whiffed at the opportunity with two desultory middle rounds. The mumbling only grows the longer he goes without adding to the four majors he put on his résumé from 2011 to ’14. That might not be fair, but that’s the bed he’s made for himself as one of the current game’s greats.
“The armchair golfers don’t realize how hard it is out here,” Lowry said in McIlroy’s defense. “It’s not as easy as shooting 65 in the first round. I saw a quote from him from last week where he hasn’t won a major since 2014 but he has pretty much done everything else you have to do in the world of golf. So it’s not like he’s in a slump.
“It’s like you’re a victim of your own success. People expect him to win 10 majors when he won those four, and it just hasn’t worked out like that. But he’s only 33 now and he’s still got a long way to go in his career.”
Scott Michaux