No looking back: Rory McIlroy seeking to lower expectations ahead of PGA

McIlroy exuded so much self-confidence before the Masters only to ultimately sulk away after an excruciating missed cut which turned into an impromptu sabbatical to get his head straight

BACK AT IT: “I was never so sure that I was going to have a great week at Augusta. Never," says Rory McIlroy.

If there was one message Rory McIlroy hoped to deliver before the PGA Championship, it’s not to expect anything from him.

Whatever confidence the Northern Irishman exuded on the eve of last month’s Masters did not serve him well. So on Tuesday, he buried that notion in waves of carefully crafted words that offered no hint of what result might turn up on Sunday at Oak Hill Country Club.

Whatever happens happens. Looking beyond the next shot is a trap McIlroy would prefer to avoid from now on.

“Less expectations … just trying to sort of be in a good spot with taking what comes and not thinking about things too much, not getting ahead of myself,” McIlroy said of the gameplan. “Just trying to go out there, play a good first hole of the tournament, and then once I do that, try to play a good second hole and just sort of go from there.” 

That is precisely what did not happen at Augusta National in April when McIlroy exuded so much self-confidence before the tournament only to ultimately sulk away after an excruciating missed cut which turned into an impromptu sabbatical to get his head straight. It was a massive jolt to his system.

“I was never so sure that I was going to have a great week at Augusta. Never,” he said. “And then that happened. It was a great lesson. It was a great lesson for me to not put too much into these feelings or vibes. I shot 5-under on the back nine on Wednesday afternoon (at Augusta) and felt great and everything was in a good spot. But that’s golf.

“That was the chat I had with (sports psychologist Bob) Rotella the night before. I feel so good – how can I not get ahead of myself? The game can bring you down to earth pretty quickly. I think the best way to deal with that is to not let yourself get to that level of expectations. That’s where a lot of times you’re trying to take what the golf course gives me and take good golf shots and just try to have a little more acceptance. I think back to Augusta and maybe over the last months as well, my level of acceptance probably hasn’t been where it needs to be. And if I work on that and I do the right things I know I can play some really good golf again.” 

McIlroy insists that it wasn’t his poor performance at the Masters that sent him searching for answers but simply accepting that emotional deflation in order “to get your mind in the right place to start going forward again.” His only tournament since, at Quail Hollow two weeks ago, didn’t go as planned either, with his driver abandoning him again with misses on both sides. It’s an issue that cannot plague him again this week with thick rough and penal fairway bunkers lying in wait of wayward drives.

“I think I'm close,” McIlroy said of his game. “I think I've made some good strides even from Quail Hollow a couple weeks ago. I'm seeing some better things, better start lines, certainly just some better golf shots. A little more sure of where I'm going to start the ball and sort of a more consistent shot pattern. But yeah, look, we'll get out there and see and play. I expect to go out there, and if I can execute the way that I feel like I can, then I still believe that I'm one of the best players in the world and I can produce good golf to have a chance of winning this week.” 

No expectations.

Oak Hill in upstate New York, however, is a place where the outside world might expect McIlroy to fare well and put the pieces together again in a major championship. McIlroy married into a local relationship as well as taking a membership at Oak Hill. His wife, Erica Stoll, is from Irondequoit, New York, a suburb just north of Rochester on Lake Ontario. She got a marketing degree at Rochester Institute of Technology and went to work with the PGA of America after graduating college. She met Rory in 2012 at the Ryder Cup at Medinah in her capacity as a PGA transport official, whisking McIlroy to the course via police escort in time for his singles match after he overslept and thus helping save the day for Team Europe’s “miracle” comeback.

So now McIlroy gets to experience all the seasons on regular family visits to Rochester from their home in Florida. He knows his way around a “garbage plate” – Rochester’s signature dish that is basically a mashup of meats and macaroni and anything else thrown in – but is far less familiar with the golf course than his membership would indicate. He’s played 27 practice holes this week, which is nine more holes than he’s played the course since it was completely renovated by Andrew Green in 2019. His top-10 in the 2013 PGA here hardly translates into a distinct advantage.

“It's not as if I have a ton of local knowledge here compared to everyone else,” he said. “The last two days are the most I've really seen of this golf course over the last couple years. I wouldn't say it's a hometown event, but I’m hopefully going to get some more support than most of the others in the field, which is nice.” 

McIlroy is more concerned in not letting his local connection be the kind of distraction that could trip him up on his quest to end a nine-year major drought.

“Any place would be a lovely place to win; I think I just need to disassociate that from what I’m trying to do this week,” he said. “I’m here at a golf tournament and I need to get myself in the right frame of mind to go out there and play the golf course the best way that I can. I’d much rather reflect on this being a great place to win rather than project the rest. It’s a great venue and great golf course and I think it sets up well for me, whether it’s in Rochester or on the moon.”