Rory McIlroy’s dominant victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am sent an ominous message to a number of the world’s best players.
Since missing the US Open in June 2024, the Northern Irishman has embarked on a dominant run of form, which has now yielded two victories—and there could have been more.
McIlroy finished runner-up at the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. The four-time major winner then placed third at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and clinched victory at the DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy then starred at the PGA Tour vs LIV Golf ‘Showdown’ in Las Vegas before finishing fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic. When McIlroy is relaxed and playing his best, there are only a select few players capable of matching him.
Rory McIlroy makes conservative decision at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
One aspect of McIlroy’s game that stood out at Pebble Beach was his decision-making. Standing on the 18th tee, with a three-shot lead, he opted to hit a five-iron to the middle of the fairway—something he would never have done ten years ago.
“Ten years ago, with a three-shot lead on the 18th hole, here would I hit 5-iron off the tee? Probably not. Just understanding the scenario and what I needed to do, it was a different case today,” McIlroy said during his post-tournament press conference.
“I mean, look, the one that I’ll come back to is the U.S. Open because it’s the one that hurt the most. Again, thinking of strategy and maybe those impulses that I talked about, hitting the right shot at the right time or being in a different place mentally, calming yourself down, using breathing exercises, whatever it is, I think the one thing that I did today really well is I didn’t get too flustered and it may — it certainly feels a little more boring to me.
“It might look a little bit more boring on the golf course, but it’s definitely more effective. That’s something that I’m consciously trying to do a little bit better of a job at. Today was a good test, and I was able to come through it pretty well.”
During the 2024 US Open, McIlroy’s decision-making was criticised after he opted to hit driver on the par-four 18th. The four-time major winner had hit three-wood the first three days.
Rory McIlroy says what he wanted to do at Pebble Beach
Despite being conservative on Sunday, McIlroy did admit he was tempted to play more aggressively at times.
“Yeah, there was a couple. Driver on four maybe to get it up there, driver on 11. I laid back both times,” McIlroy added. “Driver on 15 as well to get it up there, but with the front pin, I thought I would maybe get it too close. I definitely made some more conservative choices off the tee.”
McIlroy’s aggressive style is one of the reasons he’s been so successful over the years, so completely changing his ways would feel foolish. Yet, as he demonstrated on 18, acknowledging when to play safe is a fundamental part of achieving tournament wins.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
