The time is right for all-rounder Rory to deliver major number five

Mark McGowan
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Rory McIlroy (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Mark McGowan

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Just over two-and-a-half years ago, Rory McIlroy, who had put his shoulder to the PGA Tour wheel and heaved like he’d never heaved before, stood on the 18th green after delivering a final-round 62 to win the RBC Canadian Open.

It was just what the doctor ordered for both Rory and the Tour, since LIV’s maiden event at London’s Centurion Club had dominated much of the week’s narrative. And it was on this green that Rory took a not-so-veiled dig at LIV Golf CEO by declaring that the victory was even sweeter as it was his 21st and that he’d previously been tied with “the guy that’s spearheading that Tour.”

His PGA Tour win tally now stands at 27, meaning he’s racked up another six [PGA Tour] wins in the 33 months since, which when combined with DP World Tour wins during the same period, brings the number to 10.

Only once in Rory’s now 16-and-a-half-year professional career has he had more consistent success across a similar period, and that came between May 2014 and September 2016 when he won 11 times across the PGA and European Tours. The glaring difference? He collected two Major Championships in that timeframe.

In reality, after 36 holes, he was only in real contention in three of the 10 majors – he missed the 2015 Open Championship after spraining his ankle playing football – during his golden period, and one of these came at the 2016 Masters where he blew himself out of contention with a third-round 77. Otherwise, when he was in real contention, he stood firm.

But since that 21st PGA Tour win in Canada, he’s found himself in the mix in the final round of a major in five of the 10 he’s played and, as we need no reminding, has come up short on each occasion.

What this suggests is that the current version of Rory is the best version we’ve seen to date, even if the major championship victories haven’t come to rubberstamp it.

For all his supreme talent, McIlroy has always been a confidence-driven player, and he’s only racked up a PGA Tour win prior to arriving at Augusta on three occasions. These came in 2012 when he won the Honda Classic, in 2018 when he won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and in 2019 when he won the Players Championship, and the best chance he’s had to actually get his hands on a Green Jacket since his 2011 collapse has come in one of these years.

I’m not saying that his victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am is a sure sign that he’s going to be in contention as he rounds Amen Corner on Sunday, April 13, but it’s a positive step nonetheless, especially when you consider that Pebble Beach – and California in general – haven’t exactly been happy stomping grounds for him.

His only win in the Golden State (and on Poa Annua greens as far as I can gather) came in the WGC Matchplay at Harding Park in 2015, so to see him hole out impressively on the four- and five-footers that have often been his Achilles Heel was also extremely welcome.

His biggest and deadliest weapon remains his driver, but a course like Pebble Beach doesn’t allow him to flex those muscles often, so it was his approach play, short game and putting that were always going to be the determining factors. And those stood up under scrutiny, particularly in round three where the strong winds wreaked havoc and in round four when the pressure was cranked up as the finishing line approached.

He’ll get the chance to go back-to-back when he next tees it up in the Genesis Invitational at it’s temporary home in Torrey Pines in just over a week, but another strong showing will have him licking his lips ahead of a return to the East Coast and to courses and grass types that have traditionally been much more favourable.

I’m not saying that this is definitely the year that he gets the Major Championship hoodoo off his back – the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and a myriad of others will have something to say about that – but you kind of feel that he’s due.

The Masters is 62 days away, and a lot can happen in a week, never mind two months, but if he’s still got that swagger to complement his mind-blowing talent, this could be the year that he joins that most elite of golfing clubs.

If not, then he’s still got Quail Hollow, Oakmont and Royal Portrush to come, and his bouncebackability is second to none.

It’s surely only a matter of time until he lands Major title #5.

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