Rory McIlroy Will Never Win the Masters

[GolfLug]

And let's not kid ourselves. What he did on 15th, 16th and 17th approaches belies any mental demons he had. And of course he immediately exorcised any that descended upon him on 18th immediately after. 

[Vinsk]

10 hours ago, GolfLug said:

And let's not kid ourselves. What he did on 15th, 16th and 17th approaches belies any mental demons he had. And of course he immediately exorcised any that descended upon him on 18th immediately after. 

Having to head to a playoff after missing that putt on 18….then sticking that approach. The demons are gone. Only the Golf Gods can get him now…..

[Zeph]

I don’t think such demons ever disappear, but it’s not black and white and anyone with a lot of nerves in such a position can still hit good shots.

Even after completing his slam, winning majors and big tournaments is special.

[Vinsk]

On 4/20/2025 at 11:20 AM, Zeph said:

I don’t think such demons ever disappear, but it’s not black and white and anyone with a lot of nerves in such a position can still hit good shots.

Even after completing his slam, winning majors and big tournaments is special.

That demon did. And it was a big one. It showed in his press conference when he talked about Harry. I agree golf will continue to bring its stressors…but he removed a massive albatross and that will play to his favor for a long time if not the rest of his playing career.

[TommyRude]

On 4/19/2025 at 8:37 AM, GolfLug said:

And let's not kid ourselves. What he did on 15th, 16th and 17th approaches belies any mental demons he had. And of course he immediately exorcised any that descended upon him on 18th immediately after. 

I think it’s a mix;  yes, he hit those shots 15-17, great shots, under pressure - and the approach in the playoff, stellar.  But I think there’s an element of "he survived”.  Even Rory mentioned himself, the reaction after winning was more about relief than celebration.  AND - he almost gave it away again!  That missed putt on 18, I think he makes that 95/100 tries. The demons almost got him there, but he survived.  Now the conversation will shift to “can he do it again?”  It’s almost like the sophomore jinx all over again.

[GolfLug]

43 minutes ago, TommyRude said:

I think it’s a mix;  yes, he hit those shots 15-17, great shots, under pressure - and the approach in the playoff, stellar.  But I think there’s an element of "he survived”.  Even Rory mentioned himself, the reaction after winning was more about relief than celebration.  AND - he almost gave it away again!  That missed putt on 18, I think he makes that 95/100 tries. The demons almost got him there, but he survived.  Now the conversation will shift to “can he do it again?”  It’s almost like the sophomore jinx all over again.

To wax a little poetry if I may; it's not how we fall but how we rise after a fall. He always struck to me as a very resilient fella. Surviving the odds including the preening eyes of an army of those who 'expertly' write others off maybe an even higher quality in my book. Hence I refrain from using 'never' as an opinion. 

I would have said the same thing about him had he not won this year.

 

[ChetlovesMer]

43 minutes ago, TommyRude said:

Now the conversation will shift to “can he do it again?”  It’s almost like the sophomore jinx all over again.

I respectfully disagree. He's the only guy in the last 59 years to complete the career Grand Slam who's not named Tiger Woods. It's a very small club and he's in it. Once you are in the club, you are in the club. He can retire right now and he's a Hall of Famer. 

He's tied with Brooks Koepka for the third most major wins among active players. (And that's only if you count Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson as "active" players.) 

Everyone knows winning the Masters is difficult and repeating at the Masters is really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY difficult. 

 

[boogielicious]

38 minutes ago, ChetlovesMer said:

Everyone knows winning the Masters is difficult and repeating at the Masters is really REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY difficult.

There’s a whole bunch of one time winners, but they will always be winners.

[saevel25]

1 hour ago, TommyRude said:

 Even Rory mentioned himself, the reaction after winning was more about relief than celebration.

Of course it is. If you have that drought in major wins, coming so close, its more pressure than anticipation. Pressure = Relief, Anticipation = Celebration. Don't get me wrong, he celebrated after the fact. The initial response is 100% relief. Which is totally fine. 

1 hour ago, TommyRude said:

AND - he almost gave it away again!  

Yep, golf is hard. He made a poor swing on 15. He was probably taking dead-aim to get a birdie and pushed it. He probably should have played the slope of the green more. Guess what, he then made way more good shots than bad ones coming in to clinch the win. 

1 hour ago, TommyRude said:

That missed putt on 18, I think he makes that 95/100 tries.

6-FT from the pin, he has a 74% make from that range. 

PGA Tour players only make 95% of their putts from like just shy of 4-FT. PGA Tour average from 4-FT is 92%. Everyone things PGA Tour players make more putts than they do. 

[boogielicious]

This thread has now become the “What have you done for me lately?” Thread. It’s kind of hilarious to me. Rory just completed the lifetime Grand Slam and people are now saying it was a squeak by win? And, “Yeah, but can you repeat?” Tough crowd and kind of sad really.

[ChetlovesMer]

11 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

This thread has now become the “What have you done for me lately?” Thread. It’s kind of hilarious to me. Rory just completed the lifetime Grand Slam and people are now saying it was a squeak by win? And, “Yeah, but can you repeat?” Tough crowd and kind of sad really.

I'm with you, brother. Rory, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Gary Player are very literally the only people alive to have done it. 

Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan did it back before color television. 

But that's it. That's the list. 

 

[TommyRude]

3 hours ago, GolfLug said:

To wax a little poetry if I may; it's not how we fall but how we rise after a fall.

100%

1 hour ago, boogielicious said:

This thread has now become the “What have you done for me lately?” Thread. It’s kind of hilarious to me. Rory just completed the lifetime Grand Slam and people are now saying it was a squeak by win? And, “Yeah, but can you repeat?” Tough crowd and kind of sad really.

Not sad at all!  He’d be a hall of famer if he never won another tourney, BEFORE this Masters, right?  He’s one of the best to ever play the game.  And now he’s in the most elite group.  You could make a case that before the Masters win, he might be the best player to NOT be in the grand slam group?  Is there anyone better than Rory in that category?

Also - out of the tiny grand slam club, I think Rory’s was by far the hardest, yes?  I don’t have all the stats in front of me, but I’m thinking all the others got into the club much earlier than Rory.  If that’s true, it’s another testament to his perseverance, resilience, all that stuff.

[GolfLug]

LOL... so..

26 minutes ago, TommyRude said:

100%

Not sad at all!  He’d be a hall of famer if he never won another tourney, BEFORE this Masters, right?  He’s one of the best to ever play the game.  And now he’s in the most elite group.  You could make a case that before the Masters win, he might be the best player to NOT be in the grand slam group?  Is there anyone better than Rory in that category?

Also - out of the tiny grand slam club, I think Rory’s was by far the hardest, yes?  I don’t have all the stats in front of me, but I’m thinking all the others got into the club much earlier than Rory.  If that’s true, it’s another testament to his perseverance, resilience, all that stuff.

thumbs up? (praise..praise..)

OR

4 hours ago, TommyRude said:

But I think there’s an element of "he survived”.  Even Rory mentioned himself, the reaction after winning was more about relief than celebration.  AND - he almost gave it away again!  That missed putt on 18, I think he makes that 95/100 tries. The demons almost got him there, but he survived.  Now the conversation will shift to “can he do it again?”  It’s almost like the sophomore jinx all over again.

thumbs down? (shade..shade..)

😂

Edited April 24 by GolfLug

[iacas]

Dude, generally speaking… when you find yourself in a hole (especially of your own making, stop digging). FFS.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

I think it’s a mix;  yes, he hit those shots 15-17, great shots, under pressure - and the approach in the playoff, stellar.  But I think there’s an element of "he survived”.

Ha ha ha. Guess what? Nobody else survived. What he did survive was the many, many top-ten or top-five finishes he's had in majors in the 11 years since his last one. That he survived those to earn one of the longest gaps between major wins is something.

But you're throwing shade. What a crock.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Even Rory mentioned himself, the reaction after winning was more about relief than celebration.

Of course it is! It's been his main goal for the last 14 years. He's poured a lot of himself into it, not only that week or over the 73 holes, but the previous 14 years.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

AND - he almost gave it away again!

But he didn't. Jeezus. What did everyone else do? Oh, they actually gave it away.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

That missed putt on 18, I think he makes that 95/100 tries.

Nope.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

The demons almost got him there, but he survived.

The demons, ha ha ha. Are you sure it's not because he's so "jacked"? Please.

5 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Now the conversation will shift to “can he do it again?”  It’s almost like the sophomore jinx all over again.

Assholes might take the conversation there. Like others have already said to you, he has the most majors of active players not named Tiger or Phil and he just did something that has been done once in the last 59 years. He's, for me, a top ten golfer of all time.

But even though your prediction was proven wrong not three days after you made it, foolishly, you're doubling down on the shade.

Just stop, man.

[Ty_Webb]

3 hours ago, boogielicious said:

There’s a whole bunch of one time winners, but they will always be winners.

Paraphrasing an old joke - what do you call the worst player to ever win a major championship? 

A major champion

 

[TommyRude]

19 minutes ago, iacas said:

Dude, generally speaking… when you find yourself in a hole (especially of your own making, stop digging). FFS.

Ha ha ha. Guess what? Nobody else survived. What he did survive was the many, many top-ten or top-five finishes he's had in majors in the 11 years since his last one. That he survived those to earn one of the longest gaps between major wins is something.

But you're throwing shade. What a crock.

Of course it is! It's been his main goal for the last 14 years. He's poured a lot of himself into it, not only that week or over the 73 holes, but the previous 14 years.

But he didn't. Jeezus. What did everyone else do? Oh, they actually gave it away.

Nope.

The demons, ha ha ha. Are you sure it's not because he's so "jacked"? Please.

Assholes might take the conversation there. Like others have already said to you, he has the most majors of active players not named Tiger or Phil and he just did something that has been done once in the last 59 years. He's, for me, a top ten golfer of all time.

But even though your prediction was proven wrong not three days after you made it, foolishly, you're doubling down on the shade.

Just stop, man.

jeezus, whatever hole you think I’ve dug, you appear to be right in there with me.

Take it easy man, I’m not mad, I’m not throwing shade, I’m just enjoying Rory’s performance, and speculating on what the future may hold.  I agree with you, he’s one of the best of all time, certainly in the modern era.

[iacas]

2 hours ago, TommyRude said:

jeezus, whatever hole you think I’ve dug, you appear to be right in there with me.

No.

2 hours ago, TommyRude said:

Take it easy man, I’m not mad, I’m not throwing shade

Uhhhh… no.

Take the L.

[turtleback]

9 hours ago, TommyRude said:

jeezus, whatever hole you think I’ve dug, you appear to be right in there with me.

Take it easy man, I’m not mad, I’m not throwing shade, I’m just enjoying Rory’s performance, and speculating on what the future may hold.  I agree with you, he’s one of the best of all time, certainly in the modern era.

You DO realize that all of your prior posts in this thread are still there for folks to read?  Put the shovel down.

As to best player not to have won the career grand slam, ever hear of a fellow named Sam Snead?  Or Arnold Palmer?  Or Phil Mickelson?  Or Lee Trevino?  All-time greats who were never able to complete this.  Because it's hard, and not doing it doesn't really say anything about greatness.  Or "demons".  Or being "jacked".