Rory McIlroy must keep the faith, his next major title is just a matter of time

R ory McIlroy spent much of 2013 in professional turmoil. By the time he shot 79 in his first round at the Open Championship, he admitted to feeling “brain dead” on the Muirfield links. He had already withdrawn from the Honda Classic. An equipment change was taking its toll. So, too, was a weight of expectation created in part by an eight‑shot win at the 2012 US PGA Championship.

By autumn of 2014, McIlroy had added another two major championships to his CV. He admitted last week to watching YouTube videos of the Open of nine years ago, where the range of shot-making has taken a now 34‑year‑old McIlroy by surprise. It seems preposterous that Rory McIlroy may have to convince Rory McIlroy how good he is but we are living in the weirdest of golfing times. This should not be about what he was. Instead, what he is and can be.

McIlroy departed Los Angeles and the 123rd US Open while still unable to scratch his itch. The wait for major No 5, which would place him alongside Seve Ballesteros – or, more contemporaneously, Brooks Koepka – goes on. McIlroy could never admit it, but losing out to Wyndham Clark, an individual only seasoned golf fans could pick from a lineup, can only add to his sense of frustration. Falling short to Scottie Scheffler would have been easier to swallow.

Koepka, the US PGA champion, started US Open week rather sneering at those in his competitive domain who let external factors impinge upon their golf. This was a supposedly superior approach to McIlroy, who purposely avoided pre‑tournament media duties in a deliberate bid to avoid the Saudi Arabian elephant in the room. Koepka, who later did not hide his disdain for the LA Country Club course, finished in a tie for 17th.

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