He’s done talking.
That much is clear.
This…this was different.
Not so much with his words, but with his actions.
It cost him $3 million, but no matter.
There is no price on peace of mind.
Not when you have $300+ million in the bank.
It sure seems like something is off with Rory.
His answer: “Yeah.”
It wasn’t far off fromI’m just here so I don’t get fined.
He said he feels he’s close and that his game feels good enough to win this tournament.
But transcripts are misleading.
This was a different, much more somber Rory McIlroy on Tuesday in Western New York.
“I still stand up here as a successful person in my eyes.
That’s what defines that.”
It’s possible he’s trying to take pressure of himself.
He’s certainly succeeded toward that end.
The expectations are lower than they’ve been at any major in the past half-decade.
That’s especially true if the courses happen to be in the same state.
“you’ve got the option to spin up the ball up.
The fairways are pretty firm and those aprons are certainly running.
There’s two different trains of thought of how to play that.
He’s referring to the bomb-and-gouge fest of three years ago, where Bryson DeChambeau bludgeoned A.W.
Tillinghast’s masterpiece West course into submission with a brutish performance.
A ton more balls will stay in the fairway this week.”
To these two eyes, it looks like a test all its own.
The fairway bunkers are deep and penal, with steep faces.
The rough isn’t very long but it’s dense and will remove any ability to control spin.
You shouldn’t be able to get away with too much.
It’s unique to what we typically – I guess not typically.
Jon Rahm might be the biggest golf nerd of all
He wears the “golf nerd” label proudly.
Jon Rahm is the polar opposite.
He thinks about it constantly.
He watches highlight videos from old tournaments on YouTube.
And he doesn’t even venture to play it off as part of his job.
“I just like it.
Even if it’s not major season I’m doing it at home.
For the most part, most majors would do like a one-hour documentary of the entire tournament.
You’ll see a lot of – it’s not research.
I just like it.
It’s just fun.
I’m a golf fan, as well.
I’m a fan of all those players out there as well.
It’s enjoyable.”
On Tuesday, he weaved a number of semi obscure golf references into his answers.
On the 1967 U.S. Open: “What Jack did I think in – where was it?
At Baltusrol, right?
On an old Arnold Palmer quote:- “I think Arnie said it.
The road to success is always under construction.”
We’ll have more for you every day from the grounds of Oak Hill.
