BROOKLINE, Massachusetts – Rory McIlroy has been fighting for the soul of golf for the past few weeks. On Thursday, in the first round of the 122nd US Open, he reminded everyone why his words have such weight.
McIlroy is a great communicator, period. He took the mantle as the game’s most important speaker on what its future looks like in 10 or even 50 years, and thus he offered enlightening insight, wise advice and a way forward for a game whose balance has been thrown out of the LIV Golf-PGA duel. Tour.
There are other great speakers in the game, but they didn’t shoot 67 in their first 18 holes in The Country Club.
The four-time big winner is in an eight-year drought when it comes to winning the big ones, but McIlroy entered the week playing as well as he has for years. Nearly a Masters omission in April, an end to the first round of the PGA Championship in May and last week’s victory at the RBC Canadian Open – in which he received more than 20 shots and held Tony Finau and Justin Thomas – were perhaps his best lead to the US Open.
His game is currently tighter than Tiger Woods’ mock shirt.
On Thursday, McIlroy did something almost perfect with pairs of the first six holes and two birds in his last three on the back nine of the field (he started at number 10). Funny nominal rescue of the difficult par-3 2nd hole, plus the impossible one from the bunker of the short par-4 5th kept the momentum down. Rory then loaded number 7 and number 8 to increase his score to 4 lower, before the disappointing nausea in the latter led to a throw with the club and some words that NBC will not be able to broadcast even if desired.
McIlroy was uncharacteristically gloomy for someone who was equal to the leadership in the club of the US Open. These were certainly the most angry 67s he had ever shot.
In addition to throwing the bat, McIlroy unloaded in a bunker on that 5th hole after cutting one of the juiciest junk in another bunker a few yards away. After his round, he called out to the players in front of his group that they were slow and explained why he was so disappointed.
“You’re going to run into things at the US Open, whether they’re lies or things, that you just won’t see in another week,” McIlroy said from the 5th hole. “It’s hard not to be disappointed because I go upstairs and say, ‘Just go back to the bunker.’ The thickest unevenness on the track is around the edges of the bunkers.
“I cursed USGA when I went to the ball. This is one of those things. This is what is happening here; it doesn’t really happen anywhere else. You just have to accept it. I hit the sand a few times because I had already messed it up, so it wasn’t like much more work [caddie] Harry [Diamond]and then I just reset and played a decent bunker hit, and then it was really nice to fail that hit.
“But yes, this week you will encounter things that you do not usually encounter in the other weeks of the year, and you just have to try to accept them in the best way.”
If you’ve been following McIlroy for more than three days, it’s easy to benefit from the suspicion of such outbursts. While he’s not free of criticism for throwing clubs and sand-digging projects, it’s also a bit of a pleasure to see someone who at times looks like he’s a somnambulist at big championships with clean eyes and fully engaged.
When asked if he believed it was good to show off his racing anger on the golf course – to remind others of the importance of majors – his answer was usually great.
“Yes, of course,” he said. “You almost remind yourself sometimes how much it means to you.”
All of McIlroy’s four big wins include a first round in which he scored 67 or less, and in those four – 2011 US Open, 2012 PGA Championship, 2014 Open Championship, 2014 PGA Championship – McIlroy either had a lead or was within on one at the top after round 1. This is probably the position he will find himself in after the round on Thursday is over.
Certainly taking on the dynamic load of an entire sport has eroded his emotions in ways he may not even be able to recognize at the moment. When players, media and even top executives in the game ask what you think is the best way forward, taxation is huge.
However, after the round, McIlroy postponed his role as a prominent statesman in a game that is a century and a half.
“I’m just me,” he said. “I’m living my life. I do what I think is right and try to play the best golf I can. I was not asked to be placed here. I was not trying to be in that position. It’s just me. ”
The problem for McIlroy is that he is perhaps the greatest pilot in the history of the sport and perhaps an even better speaker. His game gives his words gravity, and gravity rules the world.
However, as the US Open finds its foundation, it would be a good idea to postpone talks on confusion and clashes between organizations waging an unjust but inevitable war. Even McIlroy, when asked if he wanted to win this tournament as a means of consolidating power to reverse his sport, turned the spotlight on the past and the present instead.
He did what we all need to do – at least for the next three days – by reminding everyone of the historic greatness of the great championship that is now underway and may soon be in his hands. A big championship that, based on the unintended consequences of diluting the regular golf season, now means more than ever.
“Not really,” McIlroy said when asked if, as the heart of off-track sports, he was inspired to make a statement.
“It’s been eight years since I graduated, and I just want to get one again.”
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