Rory McIlroy claimed to have done something so ‘odd’ that you normally see in WWE after his victory at The Masters

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Rory McIlroy finally won the Masters and achieved the career Grand Slam just two months ago.

Yet, it feels like much longer since the thrilling final round at Augusta National, where McIlroy eventually got over the line via a playoff.

That’s probably because the Northern Irishman’s last few tournaments have not gone to plan, both on and off the golf course.

By far the bigger story at the moment is figuring out what’s going on inside McIlroy’s head, because something isn’t quite right.

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Rory McIlroy performs ‘heel turn’ after winning the Masters

ESPN analyst Scott Van Pelt reflected on McIlroy’s past few months and struggled to come up with an explanation for his recent behavior.

The 36-year-old has not only struggled on the course, but he has regularly either dodged the media or been off with them lately.

Van Pelt said it appears that “he’s mad at everything and everybody,” and it’s hard to understand why.

He even compared McIlroy’s change in demeanor to a “heel turn.” For those who don’t know the term, it describes when professional wrestlers go from fan favorites to villains.

“I’m just baffled by what happened,” Van Pelt shared. “What’s going on? People are going to speculate about his life. I will not do that. The man’s life is his own business.

“He mentioned: ‘I climbed my Everest and I’m trying to come down the mountain.’ I get that. I don’t know what comes afterwards. I wonder, is it like, ‘I don’t have anything to chase. I don’t have a hill to climb?’ But that doesn’t explain to me that his resting posture seems p—– off with everyone. I’m just baffled by it.

“To me, he is such a leader of the tour, has been incredibly accountable, more than anybody, and maybe he just reached the point where he’s like, ‘You know what, I’m f—— done. I’ve done this forever, and now I feel like I’ve reached the point where I get to do whatever I want.’

“Saying the quiet part out loud like that makes people go, ‘Oh really? Well, that’s an interesting way to frame it.’ He just seems like he’s mad at everything and everybody. That’s the part I don’t quite get.

“Not for nothing, the whole LIV thing led to these elevated events. Then, Jack [Nicklaus] has an elevated event, and he doesn’t go, and he doesn’t call him. After he sat down with him and brainstormed how to win Augusta, he didn’t call Jack. That’s poor form from a guy who’s almost only had immaculate form.

“He’s always done and said things that made me think, ‘That’s well done.’ It’s odd. Odd is the only thing I can say. It seems like he’s suddenly become a different dude. It’s like a heel turn almost.”

Rory McIlroy’s attitude is more concerning than his performances

McIlroy played well at the Truist Championship four weeks after his Masters victory, finishing six shots behind tournament winner Sepp Straka.

The PGA Championship is where things went downhill. McIlroy was not allowed to use his first-choice driver at Quail Hollow, and he struggled off the tee all week.

He then missed the cut at the Canadian Open after choosing to skip Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament, again driving the ball poorly.

However, McIlroy can take confidence from his much-improved driving at the US Open. Instead, it was his approach game that let him down.

All in all, his underwhelming performances recently are not much of an issue. What matters more is that he needs to regain his passion for the sport if he wants to win more major championships.