Rory McIlroy has been under fire as he continues to emulate his past successes at the Players Championship with an incredible performance. The Northern Irishman
The World No. 2 player’s poor performances at the Players Championship have been made worse by rumors from his former agent that he seemed “disinterested” before the competition.
The superstar from Northern Ireland hasn’t won a major championship in ten years. His most recent victories in the biggest golf tournaments came in 2014 when he won the PGA Championship and the Open Championship. The 34-year-old has had difficulty exhibiting consistency in 2024 as he attempts to put an end to his protracted drought.
He was well off the pace in the practice round of the PGA Tour’s main event last week, finishing in 21st place after a mixed performance at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. The former world number one got off to a great start on day one of the Players, tying for first place with ten birdies in a round of 65.
His performance in the second round, however, suggested that he had played the deceptive game on Day One, as he labored through a less impressive showing to finish one-over 73. McIlroy had a better third round, finishing with three birdies for a total of 69. Going into the final round, he is eight shots behind leader Xander Schauffele.
The four-time major winner is getting ready for another shot at glory in the Masters next month, but his uneven performances thus far in Florida don’t seem to indicate that. In addition, the under-fire player must deal with criticism from Andrew “Chubby” Chandler, his previous agent, who doesn’t seem to be convinced of his ex-client’scurrentlevel of commitment.
Chandler delivered a scathing evaluation of the 2011 US Open champion’s recent struggles, as reported by the Irish Post: “McIlroy appears uninterested. Never would Tiger and Nicklaus have given up a year of their careers the way he did. To me, Rory appears uninterested. He appears unfocused. I get the impression that he was severely depleted by last year, and now that he’s been let down, he’s having trouble rising back up.”
That’s how it appears to me. There’s no twinkle, no spark in his eyes. He was like the old Rory for about an hour and a half on Saturday afternoon, but you know that springy step he has when he’s playing well? It’s gone, and I’m sure that year, or those eighteen months, took its toll.”
Chandler also asserted that McIlroy might have lost some of his spark after turning into one of sports’ most lucrative stars, which is another contentious jab at the player’s current motivations. “And don’t forget about Rory; he has a lot of money,” he said. The others don’t have billions, but he and Tiger do.
“It’s impossible for me to have a billion dollars and still play as hard as he does. It appears that he is getting bored with the game. Both the Arnold Palmer and PGA National events last week were enjoyable for him, but he was not present for them. That’s concerning. Seeing how enthused he becomes this week will be interesting to watch.”
“Rory was at the forefront of Full Swing. How he could not see what was happening to him is beyond me. Since Nicklaus or Tiger would never do it, he was either getting paid well for it or he enjoyed having his quotes constantly displayed in lights.”
Chandler added: “They would never have sacrificed a year of their lives; he’s playing not as well as they can for the sake of fighting for the PGA Tour, and he’s not even American.”
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