Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that Rory McIlroy wouldn’t blow the field away and romp to the PGA Championship title at his beloved Quail Hollow, a course he had already won at four times in his career. The burden of not winning a Major title for eleven years and trying to win the Career Grand Slam at the Masters had been lifted.
What followed was driver conformity controversy and literal radio silence. A week wasted, talk of the calendar slam gone in an instant and questions of where McIlroy’s motivation lies. Underwhelming performances at the US Open and The Open brought an end to his Major campaign but he ended the year with a flourish, winning the Irish Open and helping Europe to a famous away win in the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy spoke of the Career Grand Slam being his destination, but as last season came to a close he realised it wasn’t and then returned his motivation. The comedown from over a decade of pressure to fulfil something billed as his destiny was understandable but now he knows that there is a huge opportunity to cement his legacy even more and put himself in the pantheon of greats with Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
It was expected that winning the Masters last year would open the Major floodgates but 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley is predicting McIlroy to add to his tally this summer with the PGA Championship a fortnight away.
“I think he is in a better place mentally now,” McGinley told IrishGolfer.ie. “Having tried for eleven years not winning a major and also trying to win the Grand Slam for it to happen all at once there was a reset that he had to go through and I think he has done that. We saw that it came together at the Irish Open and he played so well in the Ryder Cup. There is no doubt he is in a better place this year and I expect him to go on and have a strong major season.”
Although it took McIlroy eleven years to end his drought in the Major championships, McGinley believes the Holywood man is a more rounded player and has proven that he is capable of winning without firing on all cylinders with the opening two rounds at last month’s Masters being a clear example.
“What he has proved as a player is he doesn’t have to have his ‘A’ game to win. Earlier in his career when he was winning all those majors he had to have his ‘A’ game his ‘B’ and ‘C’ game was not competitive. Now we saw he hit four fairways over the fist two days at the Masters and was twelve-under that was leading by six shots so his short game won him that Masters.
“You could argue that his short game is better than his long game now, who would have said that five or six years ago? It’s not like he’s chipping it to five or six feet and grinding over putts, he’s either chipping it in the hole or to a foot! His feel is phenomenal, his bunker play is not to be underestimated too.”
There is still lots to achieve in the career of Rory McIlroy. He could become the first player to win three successive Masters titles while the goal of achieving double digits in Major victories is now very much alive again standing at six presently.
“When Rory is engaged in something he generally delivers and we saw that last year at the Masters, the Irish Open and Ryder Cup and again this year. He will rally in the next three majors and if he doesn’t win any he will certainly be in the conversation,” added McGinley.
Irish golf has punched above above its weight at the highest level over the last two decades, delivering twelve major championship victories since Pádraig Harrington broke down the barrier at the 2007 Open Championship in Carnoustie. Irish golf is also synonymous with the Ryder Cup and Shane Lowry delivered another crowing moment with the winning putt on the 18th in Bethpage Black adding his name to the likes of Eamonn Darcy, Philip Walton and a one Paul McGinley.
Although Lowry has let victory slip through his fingers on Tour a couple of times this year – even at the Masters he was in the mix before a final round 80! – McGinley believes Lowry has proven he can handle the big pressure moments.
“We’re on a high at the moment, Rory off the back of defending the Masters, it’s a huge deal and both of them played a huge part in Bethpage Black. We wouldn’t have won the Ryder Cup without the Irish element – the Irish are synonymous with holing putts on the last green.
“Shane has missed a couple of opportunities to win this year in Dubai and Palm Beach but I think he would have swapped winning both of those for what he did in the Ryder Cup when the pressure was at its highest, to be able to do what he did more than compensates for the two that slipped through his fingers this year. I have no worries with Shane playing under pressure and he proved that.”
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