IUnder normal circumstances, Rory McIlroy’s return to a triumphant scene would be cause for deep reflection. McIlroy finished in obscurity at Valhalla as he claimed the 2014 US PGA Championship, providing a theatrical backdrop for his fourth and to date final success in one of golf’s premier tournaments. McIlroy landed back in Louisville, Kentucky, this week with back-to-back PGA Tour victories under his belt.
These are not ordinary times. A media appearance by McIlroy on the eve of this American PGA lasted just nine minutes and seven questions from a packed room. The emergence of news Tuesday that the 35-year-old had filed for divorce from his wife of seven years 24 hours earlier has suddenly transformed the scene around McIlroy. On Sunday, McIlroy stood with the trophy aloft at Quail Hollow after a dominant finish to 18 holes.
It was made clear that he would not comment on his private life, a mantra to which he resolutely adhered. “I’m ready to play this week,” was McIlroy’s matter-of-fact response when simply asked how he felt.
While it seems a shame that it has come to this, we should also not forget that McIlroy has the form to thrive inside the ropes when there is noise elsewhere. He played some of the best golf of his career in 2022 while effectively fronting the PGA Tour’s war against LIV. In 2014 he announced the end of his engagement to Caroline Wozniacki, just days before winning at Wentworth’s West Course. Two majors quickly followed. This brush continued until early 2015, when the Northern Irishman was embroiled in a costly court battle with his former management firm. Considering the recent rejoicing in New Orleans and Charlotte, the evidence here points strongly to McIlroy’s fame.
“I feel good,” McIlroy said. “I obviously had a great day on Sunday at a golf course that I have grown to love and have had great success at over the years, and I came to a venue where I have had success before.
“Every year I go back to Quail Hollow. Don’t really come back here much. Today was the first time I had been on the golf course since 10 years ago, so it was good to reacquaint myself with the place. The golf course is a little different than it was 10 years ago, a little longer. A few minor changes, but for the most part pretty much the same as what I remember from 10 years ago.
“But look, [my] The game feels good after two wins, a nice one in New Orleans with Shane [Lowry, at the Zurich Classic team event] and then a very good performance last week. I think it’s all about confidence and momentum. I have a lot of confidence and there is quite a bit of momentum coming this week.”
Xander Schauffele, who beat McIlroy aside for his five-stroke victory on Sunday, seemed able to calculate what had happened. Schauffele said, “If someone had told me I was going to shoot four under on Sunday at Quail Hollow and lose… it’s just a testament to how well Rory played. When someone like him is firing on all cylinders, he’s hard to beat.”
One topic McIlroy was typically effusive about was the state of golf. Days after it became known that he could no longer become a member of the PGA Tour policy council, Jimmy Dunne resigned. The American businessman was considered hugely influential in relation to existing tours that formed an agreement with the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Without such a deal, LIV and the PGA Tour will operate on completely different paths.
“Frankly, I think it’s a huge loss for the PGA Tour as they try to get this deal done with the PIF and try to unify the game,” McIlroy said of Dunne’s departure. ‘Jimmy was actually the relationship, the channel between the PGA Tour and the PIF. It’s a real shame he hasn’t been involved in the last few months and I think part of the reason everything is stuck at the moment is because of that.
after newsletter promotion
“So it’s really disappointing. I think that puts the tour in a worse place. We will see. We’ll see where it goes from here and we’ll see what happens, but I’d say my confidence in anything done before last week was as low as it was before. With this news of Jimmy resigning, knowing the relationship he has with the other side and how much warmth there is from the other side, it is worrying. Eric Nicoli, the chairman of the European Tour Group, is one option to replace Dunne.
McIlroy discussed his practice routine and assessed the relative failures of European golfers in this major. And with that he was off. Only back with thoughts that he understandably doesn’t want to share.