Rory McIlroy has been solely focused on The Open Championship since the end of the US Open.
He has played competitively only once since competing at Shinnecock Hills, and that was at the Scottish Open to prepare for The Open at Royal Birkdale.
It must therefore be frustrating for McIlroy to have endured such a slow start. He struggled immensely with his putting throughout day one, and finished Thursday seven off the lead at two over par.
But for every loser there is a winner, and the PGA Tour may be among the beneficiaries of McIlroy’s early struggles at The Open.
Poor start to The Open may make Rory McIlroy reconsider his schedule
McIlroy officially entered a new era this season. He fully committed himself to preparing for major championships, skipping a plethora of PGA Tour events to narrow his focus on the four biggest events of the year.
He’s played so little on the PGA Tour this year that he may not even play in the 15 events necessary to retain his membership.
But it’s not exactly worked out so far. McIlroy did win The Masters, but he played plenty at the very start of the PGA Tour season before taking a few weeks off ahead of playing at Augusta.
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Since The Masters he’s played three times on the PGA Tour, and that’s had a negative impact on his major performance. He finished T7 at the PGA Championship, T32 at the US Open, and now he’s struggling at The Open Championship.
McIlroy’s schedule has been to the detriment of the PGA Tour. They obviously want him to play in as many events as possible. So his performances at the majors since taking this new approach may encourage him to play more on tour.
They’d never admit it if they were, but the PGA Tour may well be hoping McIlroy’s major struggles continue to coax him back into playing their events.
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