Rory McIlroy wants to ‘get back to being a golfer’ after missing cut

TPC Sawgrass is such a capricious beast that the drawing of firm conclusions from Players Championship outcomes can be unwise. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have won here. So too have Craig Perks and Stephen Ames. Golfers enjoy the razzle-dazzle and riches associated with the PGA Tour’s marquee event but not many laud its venue.

Rory McIlroy required fireworks upon return to Sawgrass on Saturday morning which duly did not appear. Playing the closing eight holes in one under par – storms had halted play late on Friday afternoon – was not sufficient for McIlroy to survive the cut. The Northern Irishman’s plus five aggregate meant he played just 36 holes in his final stroke play event before the Masters.

That McIlroy was not his jaunty self as he completed media duties was no real surprise. A sixth missed cut in 13 Players starts is hardly cause for celebration. Yet there is a rising and broader theme, that McIlroy’s key role in the reconfiguration of the PGA Tour is causing at least an element of professional fatigue.

“Yeah, it is fair,” said McIlroy of this theory. “I’d love to get back to being a golfer. Look, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. Honestly, it’s been a busy sort of six or eight months. But everything has sort of been announced now and the wheels have been put in motion. So it should obviously quieten down from here.”

McIlroy was part of a board meeting in advance of last week’s Bay Hill Invitational which stretched to seven hours. Elongated talks have become commonplace. So, too, has McIlroy’s position as the unofficial spokesperson for golf’s existing ecosystem as the LIV threat lingers.

McIlroy’s willingness to work for a greater good is entirely to his credit, as is his candour before the media. History