The problem with winning so early is that losing can feel worse than it actually is.
The British Open stung Rory McIlroy, even though he said it wasn’t life or death. It would have hurt even more than being 80 in the final round of the 2011 Masters. He was only 21 then, without a major, when talent exceeded expectations.
But then later that year, he won a US Open with a record Congressional score. The following year, he won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island. And two years later, he added his name to the burgundy pitcher at Royal Liverpool, winning another PGA Championship by just four weeks in a row.
Four masters in four years. Only three other players in the last century had that many by age 25 or younger: Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods.
McIlroy is now 33 and still has four majors, not to mention some gray hair on the edges. Its popularity is just as great now as it was then, if not more so.
Disappointment? Secure.
McIlroy has now won 30 majors since he won his last. Perhaps even more surprising, the British Open marked the first time during that drought that he topped the standings after 54 holes.
He did little wrong, and even less right. Imagine having your share of the 54-hole lead in a major, hitting every green in the regulation and still not winning. McIlroy two-putted on each green. He had two-putt birdies after he reached the par-5 fifth in two and drove the green on the par-4 10th.
The gap really seemed to narrow as Cameron Smith made five consecutive birdies to start the back nine and took the lead. “I had to dig deep to make birdies and I just couldn’t,” said McIlroy.
Just don’t understand that McIlroy was the only player to leave St. Andrews – along with two other majors this year – feeling like he should have won.
It only felt that way because so many wanted him to win.
Save a thought for Cameron Young.
He drove into the gorse on the reachable par-4 ninth and turned a look at a birdie into a bogey. Young missed a 6-foot birdie chance on the 15th. He wasted a big, daring tee shot on the 16th when his wedge fell short and rolled off his ledge. His two shots on the 17th were better than McIlroy’s, but he missed his birdie chance. And because he needed something special to have a chance, he drove the 18th green and made a hole of a 15-foot eagle putt that was only good for a silver medal.
He will have as many “what if” moments as McIlroy. And that’s just from St Andrews. Young, the top rookie on the PGA Tour this year, also made a double bogey with three putts on the 16th hole to finish one shot from a playoff at the PGA Championship.
Will Zalatoris had no part in St Andrews. He had to settle for a few runner-up finishes in the majors this year.
Zalator is three-putted from 20 feet on the 16th hole in Southern Hills in the PGA Championship. He eventually lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas. And then at Brookline for the US Open, he narrowly missed a 15-foot putt on the last hole to force a playoff.
One player is different from another, and it is a product of expectations. Jordan Spieth knows the feeling. He won the Masters and US Open, was one putt away from a playoff in St Andrews for the third leg of the Grand Slam and was second in the PGA.
That’s a once-in-a-career achievement in the majors. Spieth was 21, in his third year as a pro. Good luck making that happen, although it’s a nice problem to have.
Does it make it worse or better that McIlroy was the only player to finish in the top 10 in all four majors this year without winning? The last player to do so was Rickie Fowler in 2014, a distant memory as Fowler hasn’t won a major (and is now on the brink of dropping out of the top 150 in the world rankings).
There is some truth in McIlroy’s direct assessment Sunday night. He was defeated more than he lost.
Smith shot 30 on the back nine – Jack Nicklaus (1986) and Gary Player (1978) did when they won the Masters – and his 64 was the lowest final score of an Open champion in St Andrews. Among the great closing rounds in Open history, it rivals Phil Mickelson’s 65 when he won at Muirfield in 2013.
“I just have to keep putting myself in position, keep putting myself in there,” McIlroy said.
Worse than not winning at St Andrews was that he was so rarely in that position in the past eight years. Only three times in his previous 29 majors had he started the last round closer than five shots.
“Every time you put yourself in that radiant light, you’re going to face setbacks and failures,” he said. “Today is one of those moments. But I just have to dust myself off and come back and keep working hard and believing in it.”
He has eight months and three weeks until the Masters, his next chance. That’s the same wait for Zalatoris and Young, with two exceptions.
They’re not Rory McIlroy. And they don’t know what they’re missing.
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