Rory McIlroy puts an end to his rough 2016 with clutch shots at the Irish Open
We all know that feeling. The feeling you get as a fan when you start to see things slipping away for your favorite player or favorite team. Yankees fans felt it in the ALCS in 2004. The Clippers had their fans feeling that same thing a year ago in Game Six of Western Conference semifinals.
It's not exactly a train wreck, but it's as close as we come when comparing a game played by adults with real life tragedy.
Why does my stomach feel this way?!
The final round of the Irish Open, a home game for the best golfer to ever come from that area, started with Rory McIlroy boasting a three-shot lead, eerily similar to what he faced heading into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship earlier this year at Doral.
That Sunday ended with McIlroy signing for a final round 74 and Adam Scott claiming his second trophy in as many weeks. It had happened at the Northern Trust Open, when Rory tied for the lead on Sunday thanks to an opening eagle on the first hole. He wouldn't make another birdie until the 18th that day as Bubba Watson cruised to another title at Riviera.
Rory has made his career on being clutch, for better or worse, following his back nine collapse at the 2011 Masters.
Since that loss, Rory has won 10 of his 11 PGA Tour titles, all four of his major championships and six other European Tour titles. While Rory's playoff records on both the PGA Tour and European Tours sits at a shocking 0-4 in his career, Rory has shown us countless times how he can step up when the pressure is on.
The 62 in the final round at the Wells Fargo in 2010 comes to mind. His closing 65 at the 2011 Hong Kong Open was good enough to vault him to a two-shot victory, and we all remember that crazy final round at the 2014 PGA Championship where Rory found himself two shots back of three juggernauts in Rickie Fowler, Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson only to play the back nine in 4-under to edge Lefty by a shot.
But 2016 has been anything but normal for the former No. 1 player in the world. When the pressure has turned up, Rory has seemed to slip away, playing his best on Sunday only when he was too far back to really matter.
On Sunday at the Irish Open, Rory, who rumor has it has been struggling with his putting even if the numbers don't really back it up, missed a bunny on the 11th for a par, giving up the lead for the first time all day to Russell Knox.
It's happening again, isn't it?
Rory's season has been about great stretches that don't last 72 holes. Riviera, Doral, Augusta ... they all had the same smell, despite being completely different entrees.
His third round at Augusta National was astonishing for a number of reasons, especially when you couple it with some of his comments about his playing partner for the day, Jordan Spieth.
Spieth, who is trying his own self this Sunday to buck early rumors of his career demise, outplayed and outclassed Rory all moving day at Augusta, forcing Rory to admit to the media after that he actually said to himself after the 15th hole on Saturday at the Masters of Spieth, "how the hell is he 2-under par today?"
SB2K16 buddies or simply acquaintances, both Rory and Jordan are battling to become relevant again in the 2016 golfing landscape, trying desperately to find their games so someone can give Jason Day a run for his ever-growing money.
McIlroy from 271 yards. https://t.co/9uEqWgUuK9
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2016
And that was when something happened. Rory pulled a 3-wood from 271 yards on the par-5 16th hole and hit a golf shot that few on this planet possess. There are a lot of reasons that Rory captures our attention like few in the game ever have. He's inconsistent, sure, but he has the ability to pull off shots with golf clubs that most pros wouldn't even try. Remember that approach at the 10th in '14 at Valhalla (he'd hit that same shot out of bounds earlier in the week)? And the three-wood he hit on the 72nd hole at the 2014 Honda Classic to a pin that only wackos would take on? Perfection.
So Rory would make a birdie on 16 and hit another laser approach on the 17th, only to have the golf gods remind him of how rough 2016 has been. The putt rolled true only to spit back at Rory like a cruel boomerang.
Frustration at those moments are inevitable, but you either use it for motivation or let it get to you as you walk to the 18th. Rory still had a one-shot lead with a par-5 finish, and after his drive found the fairway, he faced a 252-yard second with Knox forced to lay up.
He could have done the same. The 18th green isn't exactly inviting at The K Club, and a tugged shot, Rory's miss, would be swimming and would fit perfectly in the '16 narrative.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2016
He didn't. Rory hit the golf shot of 2016 from the fairway, an approach that was eyed closely by McIlroy but needn't be. It never left the flag, rolled to a couple of feet and forced me to send out a "Holy S***" text to my What's App group of golf writers and bloggers that one member who was on a tape delay, to fit with the struggles of Rory's season, took as me reacting to a water ball from McIlroy and not a missile that ended his tournament with an eagle.
Rory's reaction brought up memories of Royal Liverpool, when the Claret Jug was finally Rory's after being pushed late by Fowler and Sergio Garcia, and the relief was apparent, as it should be.
This PGA Tour season has been weird. Pebble Beach was weird, the Masters was downright looney, and the fact that names like Fabian Gomez, Vaughn Taylor, and Jim Herman have all won while Rory, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and others haven't isn't exactly the narrative we expected after 2015.
Rory's finish on Sunday was much needed for us all. Winning becomes harder and harder the longer you go without feeling that sensation, and Rory's season was beginning to look a lot like those lost years from Phil Mickelson or the swing-change years of Tiger Woods. He'd been close, but he wasn't closing things out. This stuff happens to the best, but it still isn't easy to go through.
253 yards.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 22, 2016
The shot of a champion. https://t.co/7EpcJKAbWH
With two huge golf shots, Rory rerouted his season, and just in time for three majors before August.
Nothing is scarier than a golfer with confidence, especially when that golfer is Rory McIlroy.
Your move, Jordan.
