Another near miss for Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship, as he once again seemed capable of doing all the hard parts right, but undone by that one disastrous round.
In this case that round was Saturday where he combined for five over par on the 6th and 11th par three holes. For McIlroy this is obviously the hardest part, getting over that mental hump and avoiding these error strewn rounds.
The criticism following last week’s major will be stronger once again, particularly after McIlroy had given hope following his best first round in a major since 2011.
He is at the same time one of the best golfers in the world and the most scrutinised. He is truly a victim of his own success and talent, which is exactly what Shane Lowry said following the conclusion of the PGA as he came out to bat for his great pal, who had avoided the press after his final round.
"The armchair golfers don't realise how hard it is out here. It's not as easy as shooting 65 in the first round. I saw a quote from him from last week, I don't know when it was from, where was he hasn't won a major since 2014, but he has pretty much done everything else you have to do in the world of golf.
"So it's not like he's in a slump. It's almost like you're a victim of your own success. People expected him to win 10 majors when he won those four and it just hasn't worked out like that. But he's only 33 now and he still got a long way to go in his career."
It honestly makes me sick that after being 4-under through 5, all Rory had to do was play the rest in 1-under to be in a playoff. Another one that just slips by. He’s so close. It’s gonna happen soon.
— Rory McIlroy Tracker (@RMTracker) May 22, 2022
Rory McIlroy declined to speak to any media after the round. Singed his card, cleaned out his locker and headed for the parking lot.
Another major championship, another missed opportunity.— Zephyr Melton (@zephyrmelton) May 22, 2022
Lowry also spoke on his own game, and discussed missed opportunities to score. He struggled for birdies this week, only managing eight from four rounds, half as much as McIlroy.
"Like I said to Bo going down the last, I feel like I'm two or three shots away from having a good week. But I'm disappointed because I feel like I could've done better this week.
"It is still another decent performance there's no real bad things to take away from that. Yes, I got up and down a good few times when I need to do, but I did miss quite a few chances out there to shoot a decent score.”
McIlroy and Lowry will have two more chances this year to add to their major tally, while Seamus Power will also be hoping to improve on his top ten finish in the PGA.
On June 16th the US Open begins in Brookline, before the Open kicks off on July 14th in St. Andrews, where Pádraig Harrington will also be teeing it up.
SEE ALSO: Seamus Power Has Different Perspective After Unorthodox Route To Major Sunday
