Smylie Kaufman has issued his verdict on Rory McIlroy’s performance at Riviera this past week after the Northern Irishman finished tied for second at the Genesis Invitational.
Rory McIlroy was in the final group heading into Sunday at the Genesis Invitational. However, he faced an uphill task trying to put pressure on Jacob Bridgeman, with the American starting the day six shots clear.
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Ultimately, McIlroy never really looked like he was going to win at Riviera for the first time in his career. It was a particularly frustrating day on the greens for the 36-year-old, with McIlroy watching several putts only threaten to catch the edge of the cup.
Nevertheless, there were plenty of positives for McIlroy to take from his display.
Smylie Kaufman reacts to Rory McIlroy’s performance at the Genesis Invitational
Like Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy does not appear to be firing on all cylinders just yet. Nevertheless, he has finished 14th and second at the first two signature events of the season.
And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman suggested that he has been pleasantly surprised by how good McIlroy has been with his irons so far.
“There’s some encouraging signs, and Rory McIlroy, it appears that he’s playing with a ton of confidence, not having to worry about a whole lot. He still has that driver that’s so good. What he was able to show off with that club this week, nobody else is able to do. He can hit driver into a different world that nobody can, but he also can bring it down and play shots down on the ground and get the ball chasing down the fairway. His versatility with that club, he’s still going to be, in our generation, the best driver of the golf ball that we’ll ever witness probably, that’s how good this guy is with this club,” he said.
“This week, I really was impressed at times with his iron game. At times, heading into the season, that was the one aspect I thought he could improve on. He had inconsistent weeks with the irons, he’d have good weeks, bad weeks. It’s kind of been the trend over the last three or four years with him. He’ll just get a little underneath it, struggle to hit fades. And then sometimes the wedge game becomes a bit of an issue.
“But coming off of Pebble where he had too many big numbers, couple of drives that maybe didn’t go his way, putting was a bit of a struggle inside six feet, but remember this is poa annua, bumpy greens, sometimes you’ve just got to chalk it up as you hit good putts that just didn’t go in the hole. I think most players can probably accept that problem that you might have on poa annua greens. With Rory, I thought he was very close.
“He probably wishes he just didn’t start quite as many back to feel like he can put a bit more pressure on them but just go to that bunker shot on the 12th hole. 40 yard bunker shot, most likely going to be making bogey from there, somehow makes birdie. He kept himself in the golf tournament, birdies the last couple of holes, one short, and you’re like, man, just one shot, felt like it was a lot more than that, but just hung in there tough.”
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It is a small sample size when it comes to McIlroy, but his iron play is looking incredibly strong at the start of the season.
In fact, McIlroy is currently ranked first for strokes gained approach on the PGA Tour.
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When you consider that Scottie Scheffler has dominated that category over the last three seasons, it appears to be a statement of intent from the five-time major champion.
Much has been made of Scheffler not finding his best form so far this season – despite his victory at The American Express – but McIlroy appears to find himself on a similar path.
So perhaps we may indeed get one or two showdowns between the two best players on the planet throughout the year.
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