Will Rory McIlroy Ever Come Back?

I’m trying out a brand new email service provider because our newsletter list has grown vastly over the past few years… And since so many people replied asking if Rory would get over the choke, I answered it here…

“It’s NOT about the setback, It’s about THE COMEBACK!”

Rory has gone over 10 years without a Major championship, and this loss only adds to the “pressure” of winning the next one. Yes, he could win with The Open Championship and not have to hear the chants of classless “USA, USA” honks.

Jordan Speith had his comeback after he choked away The Masters in 2016 at hole 12 and won the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

However, There is ONLY one way that Rory can complete his Comeback after his setback at The U.S. Open and that is to join only 4 other golfers in the history of the game. Win the Grand Slam…

Sam Snead didn’t, Walter Hagen didn’t, nor Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, or Phil…

In order to shed the demons, Rory will have to overcome the Rasputin of tournaments and win The Masters…

That’ll complete the COMEBACK.

(If you want to read the original article on How Rory Choked at The U.S. Open see below)

I hate the word Choke, because it's overused.  

But the reality is this, EVERYONE HAS CHOKED. Wait, not everyone, just those who have been successful. 

You have to be in it to win it – No one in 15^th place has ever choked.

Rory McIlroy is a 4x Major Champion and he does not need to do anything else and he’s in the Hall of Fame…

Nonetheless, he choked and here's how it happened...

Choking- Suboptimal performance given one’s skill level where incentives for optimal performance are at a maximum (Beilock & Carr, 2001).

This isn’t just a bad play but more of an event that takes place under high-pressure situations. Again, you have to be in it to win it.

There are a lot of theories about the anatomy of a choke.

 But this following theory holds true time and time again.

Catastrophe Theory- All performers have an optimal range of arousal under pressure circumstances.  When arousal gets too high, it turns into anxiety and then there can be an extreme drop-off in performance or a “catastrophe” (Hardy, 1990). 

That’s why Rory’s loss was considered “calamitous.” A two-shot lead with five holes to play…

The catastrophe is caused by one error or mistake which leads to another and another, a complete drop-off, or meltdown. 

And the fallout from a big loss is painful.

Rory McIlroy was 496/496 on putts inside of 3-feet the entire season on the PGA Tour. 

After the U.S. Open concluded, he was was at 99.7% of putts from that distance. 

He missed his first putt of the entire season at the 16th hole. And it led to a collapse, which resulted in a missed putt at the 18th as well. 

How Rory McIlroy choked was the poor missed putt on 16th hole, which caused a lack of confidence and belief in the last putt of the day and that was the end of the collapse.

How Rory McIlroy choked at The U.S. Open is that he merely got away from his pre-putt routine and the moment got away from him. 

There was probably a thought that popped in the head over the putt, such as ” don’t miss it” or more likely, a mechanical thought with a poor focus on the speed of the putt or just not completely trusting it and letting it go

It’s hard to imagine that choking in sports can happen to the best in the game, but how Rory McIlroy choked was the enormity of the wanting it so bad! 

He has wanted to win another Major, for over ten years now that it got too big. 

He has mentioned how he would have given up 100 Sundays to have another major. This is just evident of the weight of the moment and how it caused even the best in the world to not execute at the most important time. 

We hope Rory can simply Puke & Rally!

The way Rory McIlroy will RALLY from this U.S. Open defeat however is by completing the Grand Slam and winning The Masters! Doing what only four other people in the history of the game have done...