CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA | In his first attempt, Rory McIlroy completed the Trunk Slam.
After a month-long celebration of his finally completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters in April, McIlroy came and went quietly in the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Silently, in fact, as McIlroy did not talk to the media after all four tournament rounds – shooting desultory rounds of 74, 69, 72 and 72 to finish 3-over par and tied for 47th.
He left Quail Hollow – a course where he’s won Charlotte's PGA Tour stop a record four times in his career – without ever acknowledging or explaining the reported ruling that his TaylorMade Qi10 driver that he used to win this year at Pebble Beach, TPC Sawgrass and Augusta National was deemed nonconforming in random testing conducted before the PGA Championship started. It was one of several drivers that failed testing – a not uncommon occurrence as driver faces wear thin and become more springy over time.
McIlroy never seemed in sync with his replacement driver or the rest of his game all week at Quail Hollow. He ranked 70th of the 74 players who made the cut in driving accuracy, missing more than half of the fairways off the tee. He hit only four fairways in his opening 3-over 74, which put him behind the eight-ball from the start.
Before the tournament started, McIlroy was content after fulfilling his lifelong dream to win every major championship and join the most elite fraternity in golf.
McIlroy appeared to play his way back into the tournament as he was 4-under par through 16 holes in his second round before a pair of sloppy bogeys on 17 and 18 left him barely making the cut on the number.
His hopes of going off in the second group of Saturday morning with defending champion Xander Schauffele and posting a low number in pristine and calm conditions before the leaders teed off in the gusting winds late in the afternoon were shattered when the weather sirens blew to suspend play as he was walking over the bridge to the first tee. He very clearly uttered a frustrated profanity and eventually was sent off five hours later in the back of the pack opposite the leaders off split tees that spoiled his “moving day” strategy.
Starting 13 shots behind Scottie Scheffler on Sunday morning, McIlroy made two quick bogeys on the first three holes and went through the motions the rest of the way. He made four bogeys and three birdies and left quietly without speaking to the media for the fourth straight day.
“Look, I have achieved everything that I’ve wanted – I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do in the game,” he said. “I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I’ve done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.”
The bonus part didn’t materialize last week.
McIlroy is not expected to play at Jack Nicklaus’ signature Memorial Tournament in two weeks. He’s committed to playing the RBC Canadian Open a week later and immediately ahead of the U.S. Open at Oakmont. A week later is another signature event, the Travelers Championship, but the notion of McIlroy playing three consecutive weeks is a stretch.
Scott Michaux