-
Record-breaking greatness was once assumed of Rory McIlroy
-
The Northern Irishman won multiple majors early in his career
-
Ever since, his earnings have soared, but his reputation has flat-lined
These days we are used to Rory McIlroy being an almost-constant fixture at the top end of the golf world rankings but it’s easy to forget just how stratospheric his rise was from the off.
Having blazed a trail through the junior and amateur circuits, the Northern Irishman swiftly found himself touted as the next Tiger Woods, a lofty comparison that seemed wildly over the top until he won the US Open in 2011 by an eight-stroke margin, smashing a tournament record for the lowest ever score into the bargain.
Should anyone have still doubted that here was a generational golfer, McIlroy then proceeded to claim a further three majors in three years, the most celebrated being a British Open triumph on Merseyside.
In 2013, ‘Wee Mac’ was the third-most marketable athlete in the world, behind Neymar and Messi.
Only there have been no major successes since, a drought that has endured for eight long years with 29 attempts adding up to a catalogue of failures and near-misses.
There have been tournament wins elsewhere of course, a good smattering on them on the PGA and European tours, some of which came with extravagant prize money that saw his net worth soar.
Yet if majors are what ultimately define greatness – a template created by Woods – then it can reasonably be argued that a career that once promised the world has not lived up to expectation.
The reasons for this are multifarious. Injuries have played a part, as too McIlroy’s habit of dismantling aspects of his game and starting anew, not always to good effect.
Several late collapses meanwhile – including one particularly disastrous final round at Augusta in the US Masters – have also prompted some to question his mental strength.
Such has been his erratic form, as recently as last year he plummeted down the rankings to an all-time low.
Nobody, however, can ever question McIlroy’s elite ability, nor his propensity to bounce back, and an impressive recovery of self means he goes into next week’s British Open not only in fine fettle but priced up in the online betting as the 9/1 favourite to again lift the famous claret jug.
It matters too that this year the Open is being held at a course he loves and is meaningful to him having begun his professional journey there over a decade ago.
Man on a mission @RoryMcIlroy 🔥 pic.twitter.com/JrtBu5ELrQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 12, 2022
Will he do it? Four rounds of challenging golf navigating the tough St Andrews terrain and negotiating the unpredictable Scottish weather will determine that but if the 33-year-old’s destiny is unknown what can be stated for sure is that there is infinitely more than prestige and prize money at stake this time out.
McIlroy’s standing and reputation is on the line. So too, in a broader sense, his legacy. Winning the Open Championship in 2022 would be huge for his long term status in the sport.
This may sound harsh, perhaps even excessive given that in the sport’s history only 19 golfers have won more majors than the former teenage prodigy from Holywood, Count Down. Context however, is everything.
For McIlroy has claimed the same number of majors as Brooks Koepka, a sublime talent admittedly but still a man whose skillset resides one level below great.
He has won two fewer than Nick Faldo, again a golfer worthy of enormous acclaim but context tells us that McIlroy is naturally more gifted.
Back in 2011, the golf odds on the sport’s new wonderkid one day surpassing Faldo’s tally would have been short indeed.
That’s because McIlroy was magnificent, a phenomenon no less. He was complete and all things considered, when he finally hangs up his clubs, he should be remembered as a king.
Instead, if his major-less streak continues, he will merely be recalled as a prince.
