What Rick Gehman found ‘so interesting’ after watching all of Rory McIlroy’s shots at the Truist Championship, ‘I thought he stunk’

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Rory McIlroy is going to be the favourite in the eyes of many for the PGA Championship after his dramatic victory at The Masters last month.

It was clear to see what winning The Masters meant to Rory McIlroy. Not only did he complete the career grand slam, but it also appeared to be the moment which opened up the doors for the Northern Irishman to potentially win several more majors.

It is no surprise that some are genuinely wondering if the 36-year-old is going to be able to win more majors this year. It certainly helps that he is returning to a course he has had a lot of success at, with this week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

McIlroy has won four times at the North Carolina course. The big question is how much did the victory at Augusta National take out of him.

What was ‘interesting’ about Rory McIlroy’s performance at the Truist Championship

He looked rusty at the Zurich Classic, while he was not in contention to win the Truist Championship this past week.

But speaking on RickRunGood, Rick Gehman suggested that McIlroy played about as poorly as he possibly could have done in Philadelphia – which sends an ominous warning to his rivals.

“The way to look at what he did at Philly Cricket Club last week, it’s so interesting. I thought he stunk last week. I don’t think he played well. I watched every single shot he hit, didn’t look sharp at all. He lost strokes on approach for the first time since Bay Hill. He lost a ton of strokes around the green, the most he’s lost in any event in 2025. And he still, still finished tied seventh in a signature event. That’s the floor,” he said.

“Everybody puts the ball on the tee and hits from the same spot, so if you were Justin Thomas you want every tournament to start from 100 yards in the middle of the fairway. But if you’re Rory McIlroy, you want it to start exactly where these tournaments start, because you are getting that built in advantage every single tee shot on all of these holes. You think he decimates the par fives at Quail Hollow. He does. But he also crushes the par fours to a clip that we don’t usually see at a place like this, or par fours in general. It is almost like this golf course is designed for him. Then he’s probably going to get the benefit of a longer golf course. The way that they have made some adjustments like moving some of the tees back probably helps Rory McIlroy.”

Rory McIlroy’s stats at the 2025 Truist Championship

It is almost easy to forget now that McIlroy also had two wins under his belt before The Masters, and they came at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass. He is having huge success without playing his best golf this year.

McIlroy had his problems off the tee at the Truist, particularly in the third round. But there were plenty of positive signs in his performance.

And given that he is now returning to a course where he has had so much joy, McIlroy will surely put himself in the mix at the second major of the year.

Should he triumph, then the talk of the Rory Slam will be nearly impossible to ignore.