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Rory..

Templet0n

Templet0n

washed...
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Is it time to say he is no longer an elite major player? Yes he was number one not long ago. Yes he won this year at a run of the mill PGA event.

but, has not really contended for a major in years. Isn’t really a week to week threat. His game seems to be getting worse. His driving is not good, wedges and putter are awful.

I am sure he can still win a major but anyone out there can. I have been a fan and pulled for the guy for years. But I am thinking that he is really just not a major threat any more. Is he really someone you look at every major and say he will be in the mix? I am not sure I do anymore.
 
I was thinking the exact same thing. He seems to be a long way off a Spieth rejuvenation and at the moment is just another player.
 
I feel like he's not the player he was, and that's fine. I don't know why people keep picking him to win events. He's fighting it a bit in more than one way right now. He does still compete often enough, at least in spurts. I definitely feel like the course and conditions have to be a good match for him to really have a chance these days. Has to suit his strengths, and then his short game has to be okay for the entire tournament. Watching him in the Open, with how he is right now, has been interesting. A friend and I were talking about it when I mentioned his sky high balls the first day giving me the willies, and I'll share this quote:

"Yeah, he hits the ball high, and only high. He has no low game, no partial game, he's not creative.. He competes because he's good, but it's feels very square peg, round hole."
 
I'll give him another year and see where he is. He hasn't done much since the Covid layoff for someone who is an elite player. Sometimes, having a family affects their game. Looking at his personal life, Rory and his wife had a child in September 2020. Between Covid and the birth of his child ... perhaps his attention has waivered.
 
He turned me off ever since his comments during The Open in 2016 about how it's not his responsibility to grow the game and all he really cares about is winning majors. It struck me as extremely selfish and obtuse.
All tour pros have a responsibility to grow the game and those who are more successful/marketable, even more so...whether it's attending sponsor events during a tournament, playing in pro-ams, signing autographs for kids, or donating some time to a First Tee event, or the equivalent. A lot of them do without fanfare, and I'm sure Rory does...but is his heart actually in it or is it just a tax write off? He just appears to be going through the motions with his game.
I'm tired of every time the Masters comes around and all we hear is how Rory just needs to win there...he will never win at Agusta...it's his white whale.
Not a fan, not at all.
 
Pretty fair assessment OP.

I still pull for him but yeah, time will tell if he gets it back.

In our modern world that constantly looks for the next Tiger, heaps of expectations are tossed upon any play who makes three pars in a row these days. When a player like Rory or Spieth, or Day, or Keopka, or etc makes an early career run, it's always predicted to continue.

The reality of golf is that any particular player might never win another tournament. John Rham could go winless the rest of his career....no, I'm not betting on it but such is the game that it can leave at any time.
 
cjroman said:
He turned me off ever since his comments during The Open in 2016 about how it's not his responsibility to grow the game and all he really cares about is winning majors. It struck me as extremely selfish and obtuse.
All tour pros have a responsibility to grow the game and those who are more successful/marketable, even more so...whether it's attending sponsor events during a tournament, playing in pro-ams, signing autographs for kids, or donating some time to a First Tee event, or the equivalent. A lot of them do without fanfare, and I'm sure Rory does...but is his heart actually in it or is it just a tax write off? He just appears to be going through the motions with his game.
I'm tired of every time the Masters comes around and all we hear is how Rory just needs to win there...he will never win at Agusta...it's his white whale.
Not a fan, not at all.
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This growing the game thing escapes me. Is golf dying out?
 
Ugh, I’m kind of with you. I really thought he would play well this week, he’s just not there yet. That being said the world #1 isn’t exactly lighting up the course either
 
Desmond said:
I'll give him another year and see where he is. He hasn't done much since the Covid layoff for someone who is an elite player. Sometimes, having a family affects their game. Looking at his personal life, Rory and his wife had a child in September 2020. Between Covid and the birth of his child ... perhaps his attention has waivered.
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This is why he's struggling IMO. He seems to be a very caring and empathetic person. That makes a great father and husband, but it can be a distraction to professional life at the beginning of a marriage or at childbirth as he rebalances his priorities and schedules. He'll be fine soon.
 
I'm not ready to give up on Rory just yet. You're right that he has not played well in the majors in awhile. I think his biggest issue is putting which has put pressure on the rest of his game. Although he has driven it poorly this week he's still one of the best drivers on tour. I hope he can some day win the Masters to complete the career slam. However, he's going to have to get better with the flat stick to do it.
 
Desmond said:
I'll give him another year and see where he is. He hasn't done much since the Covid layoff for someone who is an elite player. Sometimes, having a family affects their game. Looking at his personal life, Rory and his wife had a child in September 2020. Between Covid and the birth of his child ... perhaps his attention has waivered.
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I too would like to see how he fares in 2022. I would like to see him in contention in April to try to complete the career slam.
 
I like Rory and think he is a class act. That said, I think he might win another major but the trajectory he was on for a little while is gone and has been for a while. They were showing video from his 2012 PGA championship win and I could not help but notice how much his body has changed. I think body changes, aging and injuries all make it difficult to maintain best in world form. Difficult for me to access the impact of emotional baggage that builds up from golf but I'm sure that exists as well.
 
He was in contention at Torrey. In the middle of a swing change which always hurts. I don't think he's as far off as it seems. I think he's also going through the "slump" we see a ton of guys go through when they get married and start a family. Their attention and time just take them in a different direction for a bit which is completely understandable. I feel like once guys find that right balance that works for them they bounce back. He'll be back.
 
Acesteve said:
I like Rory and think he is a class act. That said, I think he might win another major but the trajectory he was on for a little while is gone and has been for a while. They were showing video from his 2012 PGA championship win and I could not help but notice how much his body has changed. I think body changes, aging and injuries all make it difficult to maintain best in world form. Difficult for me to access the impact of emotional baggage that builds up from golf but I'm sure that exists as well.
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Definitely a class act, definitely fading by the tournament too.
 
He is too talented not to get it back. Even struggling, he has been playing some decent golf.
 
He's become a very streaky player.

But win a "run of the mill PGA event" is a bit disingenuous. His most recent wins include a WGC, The Players, and the Tour Championship.
 
Wasn’t he on a heater right before Covid shut things down? I know he hasn’t been great since then but I would say let’s give him a bit of time particularly with a new child in the house.
 
I like Rory and wish he would win, but I think I just have to realize that he is not as good as he once was.
 
He’s only 32 and he won earlier this year. The body isn’t just “not even cold”, it still has a pulse!
 
I will pull for Rory and Rickie in every major….thank you very much!
 
blugold said:
He's become a very streaky player.

But win a "run of the mill PGA event" is a bit disingenuous. His most recent wins include a WGC, The Players, and the Tour Championship.
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All before Covid and the baby.
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
He’s only 32 and he won earlier this year. The body isn’t just “not even cold”, it still has a pulse!
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I know he will pull a random win out pretty much annually but he is not good at majors.
 
NVGOLFER80 said:
I know he will pull a random win out pretty much annually but he is not good at majors.
Click to expand...
Do you think it may be an anti-Koepka approach? Where Koepka is super dialed in at majors and Rory just can’t find the focus? Or he just doesn’t have the drive/game for it right now?
 
RealPretendPsychic said:
Do you think it may be an anti-Koepka approach? Where Koepka is super dialed in at majors and Rory just can’t find the focus? Or he just doesn’t have the drive/game for it right now?
Click to expand...

I don’t know. It could be all of those things or none of them.

It may be that in the majors wedge game and putting are at a premium and he is not good in those areas. His driving is not great right now either.
 
Rory reminds me a lot like Speith. Was a really good player that I rooted for and has come back to the pack. I hope he can regain his form and be back on the leaderboards for the majors soon.

You look back and it’s just crazy how dominate for how long Tiger was. As now, players like Rory look to be the next best player and then after a few years just become average at best.
 
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