Rory McIlroy Will Never Win the Masters

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, TommyRude said:

I’m not sure when these beach pics were taken?  Looks fairly recent

Below - this is an example of approx when it started.  By the way, he looks JACKED in a good way here in 2014

https://www.businessinsider.com/rory-mcilroy-jacked-masters-2014-4

I don't know how many times we can tell you this: you don't seem to know what you're talking about here. He's not and never has been "overly jacked" (or whatever it is you keep going on about).

Just stop. The hole you've dug is deep enough.

Also…

[TommyRude]

here’s another jacked photo - I think this is around 2016, not sure.  He looks JACKED here, amazingly ripped physique.  Forget about the effect on his game, you guys have debunked that theory soundly.  FYI - I saw him at the Masters in 2018, he was JACKED!

https://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/gallery-rory-mcilroy-is-seriously-ripped-in-latest-photoshoot/31115764.html

 

 

Edited April 15 by TommyRude

[iacas]

Apparently anyone this side of Chris Farley is "jacked" to this guy. I'll re-iterate what I just wrote with a warning:

5 minutes ago, iacas said:

Just stop. The hole you've dug is deep enough.

The warning is: drop the "jacked" crap. Unless you have a screwed up definition of "jacked," you're just wrong on that one. So stop, or get the warning that'll accompany your ongoing drivel.

[TommyRude]

2 minutes ago, iacas said:

Apparently anyone this side of Chris Farley is "jacked" to this guy. I'll re-iterate what I just wrote with a warning:

The warning is: drop the "jacked" crap. Unless you have a screwed up definition of "jacked," you're just wrong on that one. So stop, or get the warning that'll accompany your ongoing drivel.

Yes sir.  I will drop that word.  Can I say “excellent physical shape”?

[Zeph]

He started lifting and gained some muscle mass. Whatever you call it is irrelevant. You still haven’t been able to explain why that was preventing him from winning tournaments. You can have theories of course, but don’t confuse that with facts.

In the first post you argue that Rory getting bigger hurt his game, but you failed to explain why and how you arrived at that conclusion. Don’t you see why you were “audited” as you said, when you make those assumptions without a sliver of evidence or explanation?

The exact same theories were said about Tiger. He also aquired some muscle mass and people claimed it ruined his swing, but there were no facts to support it.

[TommyRude]

6 minutes ago, Zeph said:

He started lifting and gained some muscle mass. Whatever you call it is irrelevant. You still haven’t been able to explain why that was preventing him from winning tournaments. You can have theories of course, but don’t confuse that with facts.

In the first post you argue that Rory getting bigger hurt his game, but you failed to explain why and how you arrived at that conclusion. Don’t you see why you were “audited” as you said, when you make those assumptions without a sliver of evidence or explanation?

The exact same theories were said about Tiger. He also aquired some muscle mass and people claimed it ruined his swing, but there were no facts to support it.

I posted this earlier - includes some reasonable analysis and stats, yes?  Does this help?  

********************

Appreciate your responses—seriously. Agreed - Rory's overall play from 2015–2024 has been elite. Twenty wins, constant top-10s, and staying in the top tier of strokes gained stats year after year is no joke. That only makes the major drought more puzzling, not less.

And yes, he’s come close—Carnoustie, St. Andrews, LACC—but that almost makes the argument more interesting. When you’ve got a guy that good, who keeps putting himself in position, why hasn’t he sealed the deal in the biggest moments?

I do think his transformation post-2014—adding noticeable muscle, changing his physical profile—might’ve altered his swing tempo, feel, or ability to stay loose under extreme pressure. Not during Thursday or even Saturday—but on the back nine on Sunday, when the mental and physical margins get razor thin, especially at Augusta.

Is this stat meaningful?  From 2016–2024, Rory lost strokes to the field on Sundays in nearly half of his major appearances, despite being dominant Thursday through Saturday. That pattern suggests it’s not just bad luck or getting beat—it’s a recurring issue with closing, under pressure.

It’s tough to measure pressure in a spreadsheet. And Augusta especially punishes any uptick in tension or loss of touch. I’m not saying “getting jacked” is the sole reason for the drought—but looking for subtle shifts that could explain why a generational talent keeps coming up just short in majors, I think it’s worth considering.

And OF COURSE - he finally got to the mountaintop, in extreme, dramatic fashion.  Maybe, as others have said, this will equate to cracking the code and going on a major run for the next 5-10 yrs?

[turtleback]

Quote

Twenty wins, constant top-10s, and staying in the top tier of strokes gained stats year after year is no joke. 

. . . 

That only makes the major drought more puzzling, not less.

But it makes it crystal clear that the major drought had nothing to do with his physique, since he was able to do all of that with that physique.

[ChetlovesMer]

6 hours ago, iacas said:

Apparently anyone this side of Chris Farley is "jacked" to this guy. I'll re-iterate what I just wrote with a warning:

The warning is: drop the "jacked" crap. Unless you have a screwed up definition of "jacked," you're just wrong on that one. So stop, or get the warning that'll accompany your ongoing drivel.

Oh, I'm sad now. 

By his definition I am "jacked". 

Do I have to go back to being described as "in not too bad of shape for a guy of my age"? 🤣

[Zeph]

1 hour ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Oh, I'm sad now. 

By his definition I am "jacked". 

Do I have to go back to being described as "in not too bad of shape for a guy of my age"? 🤣

The upside is that you're so tense now that you can always blame your body for playing poorly.

[TommyRude]

15 hours ago, turtleback said:

But it makes it crystal clear that the major drought had nothing to do with his physique, since he was able to do all of that with that physique.

Very respectfully, I disagree.  I still believe there’s a small kernel of truth to my theory.  Hey, you, iacas and many others here are extremely knowledgeable, know the game inside out, know the tour inside out.  I’m just a schmuck who posted a take, admittedly unsupported and not up to reasonable high standards.

There’s a background to my take - I’ll attempt to briefly describe it.  Back when Rory first came on tour, I thought he was great - most folks did, his talent was undeniable, and his youthful happy go lucky looking demeanor made him even more likable.  And he won early, fast - at the highest levels.

And then the physical workouts started.  That was cool, man he’s looking good.  And as it went along, was even a bit shocking.  But all was still good in the Rory fan club. But as a few years rolled along and the majors stopped, folks like me started to question the effect of the physical build up.  (raising my hand here - - folks like me were probably concentrating 95% on the majors record, and failing to acknowledge his stellar play overall)

The matches with Patrick Reed...  Somewhere around that time, Patrick became “the most hated man on tour”.  Raising my hand again, not sure if that timing is accurate, or even if that moniker was deserved.  But when Rory got into the screaming flex-off, it definitely detracted from the earlier Rory likability.  It’s kinda like he was lowering himself to Patrick’s level.  Not so great, for me at least.

As the mid 2010s rolled along, and the majors drought continued, and the near misses at the Masters happened, the dreaded ‘choke’ perception inevitably raised its head and persisted.  I joined in with the chorus, not disliking Rory, but certainly questioning his ability to close the Masters or any other major.  Rightfully or wrongly, it was there.

Then LIV came along.  As that developed, I saw the anti-LIV sentiment develop along with it, and I took offense to it.  My thought - these guys are being offered life changing $$, and the anti-LIV folks are trying to stop them from getting it. And then when Rory rose to ‘lead’ the anti-LIV sector, that really rubbed me the wrong way.  The press conferences, the parking lot shouting match - it just all seemed really distasteful to me.  And it seemed far far away from the early Rory, who I really liked.

So all that (in my own mind) led me down the “Rory will never win.. yada yada”.  Not based on any real statistical analysis.  Not taking into account the incredible stats and winning record he had amassed. Purely based on perception and cultural silliness.  AND - the physical thing, which as I mentioned, I think there’s a tiny kernel of merit there.

So - fast forward to Rory’s post win press conference.  THAT was the old Rory I remembered!  The totally cool guy, humble, forthright, honest, self deprecating.  He’s probably been like that all along.  And he’s certainly backed off the hard core anti-LIV persona, at least in public.

That’s it.  Just a stupid unsupported take from a dumbsh*t golf fan.  For me, this was the most exciting major since the Tiger era. I really thought it would be a gladiator death match between Rory and Bryson.  I’m surprised that Bryson fell off - - I thought he was well-set-up to handle the pressure.  I’m sure he’ll be there many times in the future, along with Rory.

[RacerX]

“Honey, guess what?  Says here I’m jacked!”

Sweet…

[TomR13]

On 4/14/2025 at 11:13 PM, iacas said:

I don't know how many times we can tell you this: you don't seem to know what you're talking about here. He's not and never has been "overly jacked" (or whatever it is you keep going on about).

Just stop. The hole you've dug is deep enough.

Also…

This record is so outrageously good.  I mean look at the US Open run… 

[saevel25]

On 4/14/2025 at 11:13 PM, iacas said:

Also…

I was just thinking about this. 60 majors played in since 2010. 42% of them top 10 finishes. 22% top 5 finishes. My goodness, 9 straight top 10 finishes at the US Open, regarded as the toughest course set up for the Majors. WTH! 

On 4/14/2025 at 11:23 PM, TommyRude said:

Yes sir.  I will drop that word.  Can I say “excellent physical shape”?

That is different than jacked, so no. 

On 4/15/2025 at 12:26 AM, TommyRude said:

That only makes the major drought more puzzling, not less.

No, it doesn't. It is tough to win majors. He is in rare company by winning the career grand slam. 

It is much tougher to win majors in the 2010+ years than it was prior. 

Look at the most majors list. If you cut it off at 5+ majors. There are 21 golfers ever to have 5+ majors. 17 of them won their first major prior to 1987. 

Maybe you could say he should have two more if things go his way. I don't think he should be near 10 or anything like that. 5 is reasonable at this point. He is tied for 15th ever. He probably has like 20 to 28 more competitive major rounds in him. 

On 4/15/2025 at 12:26 AM, TommyRude said:

I do think his transformation post-2014—adding noticeable muscle, changing his physical profile—might’ve altered his swing tempo, feel, or ability to stay loose under extreme pressure. Not during Thursday or even Saturday—but on the back nine on Sunday, when the mental and physical margins get razor thin, especially at Augusta.

Maybe in like the short term yes, but he would have gotten used to it in short order. He is a world class athlete in the golfing world. His ability to feel his golf swing is nearly unmatched. To say that him getting a bit bigger in 2014 has impacted him over the next 11 years, without him just figuring it out is really an absurd statement. 

Tiger Woods changed his swing like 3x and was elite. He got bigger, not jacked, and was elite. 

We are not talking about Olympic weightlifters here, or jacked body-builders. FYI, doing weightlifting through a full range of motion gives you more flexibility. Do you want to know who can get into the deepest squats in the world, people with gigantic legs, the Olympic weightlifters. Want to know who can't get down into a deep squat, lazy people who don't work out. 

Could muscle mass as the "extreme" side of things cause some interference in a particular golf motion, sure. Rory isn't even close to being that size. 

On 4/15/2025 at 12:26 AM, TommyRude said:

From 2016–2024, Rory lost strokes to the field on Sundays in nearly half of his major appearances, despite being dominant Thursday through Saturday. That pattern suggests it’s not just bad luck or getting beat—it’s a recurring issue with closing, under pressure.

Yea, it could be mental. Sometimes you just need to get over the hump again even though you have 4 majors in your pocket. You only get 4 chances a year at this. You have to be on your game to have a chance on Sunday. So, for the stars to align for him to have the chances to even learn from his mistakes is not that much. Being T-5, 6 strokes back and not having that pressure on the Sunday is not a learning experience on how to close out a tournament. It makes sense why it could take this long. Also, he is playing against other good golfers. Sometimes, the best golfers in the world get beat.

On 4/15/2025 at 12:26 AM, TommyRude said:

And Augusta especially punishes any uptick in tension or loss of touch. I’m not saying “getting jacked” is the sole reason for the drought—but looking for subtle shifts that could explain why a generational talent keeps coming up just short in majors, I think it’s worth considering.

Nope, it isn't. I would agree it was loss of confidence or nerves, plus other golfers just taking it from him than it being related to him working out. I am actually willing to say, it is 0.0000000000000000000000001% related to him working out. So, round that off to ZERO! 

On 4/15/2025 at 5:12 PM, TommyRude said:

I’m just a schmuck who posted a take, admittedly unsupported and not up to reasonable high standards.

Let's not play the victim card here. 

On 4/15/2025 at 5:12 PM, TommyRude said:

And then the physical workouts started.  That was cool, man he’s looking good.  And as it went along, was even a bit shocking.  But all was still good in the Rory fan club. But as a few years rolled along and the majors stopped, folks like me started to question the effect of the physical build up.  (raising my hand here - - folks like me were probably concentrating 95% on the majors record, and failing to acknowledge his stellar play overall)

He wasn't able to bomb it 330 yards prior to 2014 because he was a kid who still had baby fat on him. 

Look at the rolling 10 round average since he started. It looks pretty typical. Lots of ups and downs because you can't be on all the time. Even back in 2014, he never really had a 10 round average were his stroke's gained approach was negative. If you say his size causes him issues, then there should be something crazy here. The dips in 2014 on look the same. Did he have some early year crazy spikes, sure. Sometimes a golfer catches fire for a year. There are things call outliers for a reason. 

On 4/15/2025 at 5:12 PM, TommyRude said:

And then when Rory rose to ‘lead’ the anti-LIV sector, that really rubbed me the wrong way.  The press conferences, the parking lot shouting match - it just all seemed really distasteful to me.  And it seemed far far away from the early Rory, who I really liked.

So, this is probably why you started this. You dislike Rory and want to wish it into existence that he would never win another Master. 

On 4/15/2025 at 5:12 PM, TommyRude said:

That’s it.  Just a stupid unsupported take from a dumbsh*t golf fan.

Again, you are not the victim here, so stop these self-deprecating comments to try to buy some sympathy. 

[klineka]

1 hour ago, saevel25 said:

He probably has like 20 to 28 more competitive major rounds in him. 

You think Rory only has 5-7 competitive major tournaments left in his career!!?? 

I strongly disagree with that. He's only 35.

I think he'll be competitive in at least like 20+ more majors.

[saevel25]

26 minutes ago, klineka said:

You think Rory only has 5-7 competitive major tournaments left in his career!!?? 

I strongly disagree with that. He's only 35.

I think he'll be competitive in at least like 20+ more majors.

Sorry, mistyped. My mind went rounds = tournaments, lol. 

No, I thought 20-28 tournaments. Probably closer to 28 than 20. 

[turtleback]

3 hours ago, saevel25 said:

I was just thinking about this. 60 majors played in since 2010. 42% of them top 10 finishes. 22% top 5 finishes. My goodness, 9 straight top 10 finishes at the US Open, regarded as the toughest course set up for the Majors. WTH! 

That is different than jacked, so no. 

No, it doesn't. It is tough to win majors. He is in rare company by winning the career grand slam. 

It is much tougher to win majors in the 2010+ years than it was prior. 

Look at the most majors list. If you cut it off at 5+ majors. There are 21 golfers ever to have 5+ majors. 17 of them won their first major prior to 1987. 

Maybe you could say he should have two more if things go his way. I don't think he should be near 10 or anything like that. 5 is reasonable at this point. He is tied for 15th ever. He probably has like 20 to 28 more competitive major rounds in him. 

Maybe in like the short term yes, but he would have gotten used to it in short order. He is a world class athlete in the golfing world. His ability to feel his golf swing is nearly unmatched. To say that him getting a bit bigger in 2014 has impacted him over the next 11 years, without him just figuring it out is really an absurd statement. 

Tiger Woods changed his swing like 3x and was elite. He got bigger, not jacked, and was elite. 

We are not talking about Olympic weightlifters here, or jacked body-builders. FYI, doing weightlifting through a full range of motion gives you more flexibility. Do you want to know who can get into the deepest squats in the world, people with gigantic legs, the Olympic weightlifters. Want to know who can't get down into a deep squat, lazy people who don't work out. 

Could muscle mass as the "extreme" side of things cause some interference in a particular golf motion, sure. Rory isn't even close to being that size. 

Yea, it could be mental. Sometimes you just need to get over the hump again even though you have 4 majors in your pocket. You only get 4 chances a year at this. You have to be on your game to have a chance on Sunday. So, for the stars to align for him to have the chances to even learn from his mistakes is not that much. Being T-5, 6 strokes back and not having that pressure on the Sunday is not a learning experience on how to close out a tournament. It makes sense why it could take this long. Also, he is playing against other good golfers. Sometimes, the best golfers in the world get beat.

Nope, it isn't. I would agree it was loss of confidence or nerves, plus other golfers just taking it from him than it being related to him working out. I am actually willing to say, it is 0.0000000000000000000000001% related to him working out. So, round that off to ZERO! 

Let's not play the victim card here. 

He wasn't able to bomb it 330 yards prior to 2014 because he was a kid who still had baby fat on him. 

Look at the rolling 10 round average since he started. It looks pretty typical. Lots of ups and downs because you can't be on all the time. Even back in 2014, he never really had a 10 round average were his stroke's gained approach was negative. If you say his size causes him issues, then there should be something crazy here. The dips in 2014 on look the same. Did he have some early year crazy spikes, sure. Sometimes a golfer catches fire for a year. There are things call outliers for a reason. 

So, this is probably why you started this. You dislike Rory and want to wish it into existence that he would never win another Master. 

Again, you are not the victim here, so stop these self-deprecating comments to try to buy some sympathy. 

And THAT, my friends is how a proper fisking is done.  Well done.

[bkuehn1952]

6 straight top 10 finishes in the US Open. The other 3 are actually Open Championship results. Nonetheless, Rory has been excellent in majors.

[GolfLug]

22 hours ago, saevel25 said:

You only get 4 chances a year at this. You have to be on your game to have a chance on Sunday. 

 

Good overall post Matt.

Parity has continued to grow. There have been periods of sublime golf last ten years from others like Speith, DJ, Koepka and Scheffler who have been/are wunderkinds of there own. Rory has had the longest sustained hang time at the top with and sometimes above these stalwarts. 

While accumulating no. of majors is a black and white measuring yardstick of glory, explaining away the logic (i.e., here are five reasons of why not...) of not winning one is not as black and white.