There is an argument that Rory McIlroy has now reached a level in his game he has not been at for several years following his victory at the Players Championship on Monday.
Fans will have definitely seen Rory McIlroy play better than he did at TPC Sawgrass – where he needed a playoff to beat J.J. Spaun. But the 35-year-old appears to have unlocked something in his game.
He has potentially combined his undeniable talent with the ability to find a way to win when not at his best. It has allowed McIlroy to win twice on the PGA Tour before April for the first time in his career after also winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
But of course, some will be reserving judgement until they have seen McIlroy teeing it up at Augusta National in the first major of the year. McIlroy has reached a level where his legacy is largely defined by how he performs in just four events a year.
The ‘bizarre’ narrative surrounding Rory McIlroy following his Players Championship win
No-one will need to tell McIlroy what questions he will face ahead of the Masters. It has now been well over a decade since his last major win. Meanwhile, it is only a win at Augusta stopping him from being labelled a career grand slam winner.
Few will forget the events of last year’s US Open where McIlroy looked devastated after making three bogeys in the final four holes to lose by one to Bryson DeChambeau. With that, some perhaps feel sorry for McIlroy.
But Dan Rapaport would take exception to that. Speaking on Dan on Golf, Rapaport insisted that McIlroy has already had an all-time career, and thus, he has a problem with the narrative following his Players Championship win.
“We’re seeing some of the articles flow in after Rory McIlroy won the Players Championship just a few hours ago, obviously a Monday morning finish. They’re trying to make him out to be a tragic figure. It really blows my mind. They were doing this all week where he needs this, I saw an article saying Rory McIlroy is trying to outrun a devastating memory and that’s the story of his career. It’s bizarre,” he said.
“I just don’t think there’s anything tragic about Rory McIlroy’s life. He’s got four majors, he’s got 28 wins, he’s only 35 years old, that’s a ton of wins. He’s got two Players Championships, and maybe I’m drinking the Players Kool-Aid because we were just there, but that matters for someone’s legacy. There’s not that many guys who’ve won two Players Championships.”
Why McIlroy’s victory at Sawgrass may not be lauded in the way it should be
While Rapaport makes a valid point that McIlroy’s career on paper looks absolutely incredible, there are factors which help explain the narrative.
Firstly, had McIlroy’s majors come over a 15-year period, there would be nothing like the same concern. But he absolutely flew out of the blocks by winning four between 2011 and 2014, and has won none since.
There is also an awareness that McIlroy is on such a level where winning the Players Championship twice is not going to be what fans talk about in years to come.
Of course, few can ever imagine what it takes to win the Masters. But if McIlroy does not get the job done next month, then it is almost going to be more agonising because of the form he is set to go into the tournament with.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
