Rory McIlroy’s self-assessment of his week’s work at Royal Liverpool following his final round of the 151st British Open raised more than a few eyebrows.
“Solid,’’ the world’s No. 2-ranked player said after finishing tied for sixth at 6-under par, seven shots behind runaway winner Brian Harman despite entering the week as the unquestioned tournament favorite, having been the winner the last time the Open was played at Hoylake, in 2014, and having won the Scottish Open the week before this Open.
With all of those factors in play, there were understandably lofty expectations for McIlroy from the outside, expectations that surely paled in comparison to his own.
Yet McIlroy, with more pressure on him than anyone else in the field, failed to capture his fifth career major championship trophy.
For the 34th time since winning his fourth.
“I improved on my score every day,’’ McIlroy said, referring to his scores of 71, 70, 69 and 68.
So, he had that going for him.
Sunday marked 3,288 days since McIlroy won his last of four major championships, the 2014 PGA Championship.
In the 34 majors he’s played in since, he’s finished in the top-10 in 20 of them, in the top-5 10 times and been runner-up three times.
“Confidence is high,’’ McIlroy said. “I had a great chance in LA [last month at the U.S. Open, where he finished second] and didn’t quite get the job done, and this week, if not for one guy [Harman], I’d be right there.’’
McIlroy was not wrong in that assessment. It just feels like he’s trying to talk himself into positive thoughts.
Paging Tony Robbins.
If McIlroy looks at this past week, he very well could have — some say should have — birdied the first six holes Saturday, which is the noted “moving day.’’ He tapped in from about a foot for birdie on the first hole, then missed a 5-footer for birdie on No. 2, a 9-footer for birdie on No. 4 and an 11-footer for birdie on No. 6.
Instead of making a loud statement, McIlroy was just 2-under through six holes and finished just 2-under for the round that had potential to be a big-time charge for him.
Entering the final round, McIlroy ranked first in the field off the tee and fifth in approach shots, but was 112th in putting. In that final round, McIlroy birdied 3, 4 and 5 to make a move up the board and at least get himself within shouting distance of Harman, but he again stalled, playing the rest of the round in even par.
So, McIlroy will enter 2024 in his 10th year without having added a fifth career major championship to his record and the weight of the pressure will become heavier as the 2024 Masters approaches next April.
McIlroy, after his final round, was adamant about not dwelling on what he hasn’t been able to do in the past nine years and instead focusing on what he has still in front of him at age 34.
“I don’t think that way,’’ he said. “I think about trying to go and win a fourth FedExCup here in a couple weeks’ time, go try and win a fifth Race to Dubai, go and win a fifth Ryder Cup. I just keep looking forward.’’
Here are two things, though:
- A player of McIlroy’s talent and pedigree is not going to be measured by how many FedExCups he wins or how many times he wins the Race for Dubai.
- And the Ryder Cup, while it leaves a significant mark on a player’s legacy, is a team event and not something that best defines a top player’s legacy.
Consider that Colin Montgomerie is one of the greatest Ryder Cup players of all time and won a record number of Order of Merit titles on the European Tour, but he never won a single tournament in the U.S. or a major championship. And those are things that define his career as much as his Ryder Cup success.
Golf is a selfish game. The best players ever are measured by how many major championships they won.
Jack Nicklaus and the number 18 are synonymous because of the record 18 major championships he won. Few who follow golf even casually don’t know that Tiger Woods has been sitting on 15 majors.
Even if he doesn’t want to concede it publicly, McIlroy knows that four major championships are not commensurate with his talent and the chances he’s given himself.
“At the end of the day, when I look back on my career, am I going to remember my fifth-place [actually sixth] finish at Hoylake in 2023?’’ McIlroy said. “Probably not.’’
McIlroy spoke no truer words than those all week.