19th Hole
‘F*****g hell! That was a low point’ – Rory McIlroy on 2021 matchplay loss to LIV defector
The 2022 season was an excellent campaign for Rory McIlroy as we saw him rise to once again become the world’s No. 1 player.
The four-time major champion came away with his third Tour Championship victory, a win at the RBC Canadian Open, and another victory at the CJ Cup in October. While he didn’t secure the major championship he’s been coveting since 2014, Rory finished third at The Open, second at the Masters, fifth at the U.S. Open, and eighth at the PGA Championship.
His year full of strong finishes is also backed up by the statistics. McIlroy was the best player for the 2022 season in terms of strokes gained: total.
Prior to his impressive 2022 calendar year, McIlroy struggled in 2021 golf season. Rory recently sat down with Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent to discuss some of the low points he’s had prior to his reclaiming of the top spot on the OWGR. As we’ve grown accustomed to with McIlroy, he was candid and thoughtful in the interview.
After a U.S. Open victory by Bryson DeChambeau in 2020, McIlroy decided it was time to chase more distance. This led to swing changes and difficulties to what eventually led him to his “rock bottom” which he identifies as the 2021 Ryder Cup. He was also beaten 6&5 by Ian Poulter at the 2021 Dell WGC Match Play.
“Yeah, I was beaten by Poulter. F*****g hell! That was a low point.”
Then there was the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, where Rory had won by eight shots back in 2012.
“Kiawah was the perfect example of where my game was; I’d won the PGA there in 2012 by eight shots, but we got there, and I said to Harry: “I don’t remember this course being so difficult.”
The swing changes turned out to be completely unnecessary but having witnessed other players go through them throughout their career, McIlroy was simply doing what he thought was best at the time.
“I’d seen other people do it and thought, at that stage of my career, it was what I needed. It was a difficult summer, but I was having what most people would call a decent year and was starting to think of it that way instead of, ‘It’s decent for most but it’s not good enough for me.’ And I almost needed to hit rock bottom at the Ryder Cup to snap out of it.”
McIlroy enters 2023 as arguably the best player in the world once again and seems primed to make a run at another major championship that he desperately needs. At 33 years old, there’s still plenty of time for the former prodigy to live up to the lofty expectations the golf world once had of him in regard to major championship victories, but it’s time to get going.
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- ‘Getting to a point where I just don’t give a s**t’ – Danielle Kang blasts greens at latest LPGA event
- Harry Styles has a smoother golf swing than you could ever imagine
- ‘WTF is a FIGJAM?’ – Greg Norman left confused by golf fan’s jibe involving infamous Mickelson nickname
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19th Hole
“Is it a Titleist?” – Jerry Seinfeld shares never-before-heard details of iconic scene
On Thursday, legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld joined the Rich Eisen Show and shared an awesome story from a “Seinfeld” episode titled “The Marine Biologist.”
In the episode, a golf ball goes into the blow hole of a whale. According to Seinfeld, that was never in the episode’s script.
Seinfeld recalls saying the night before the filming of the episode, “What if what puts the whale in distress is Kramer’s golf ball?”
“He’s hitting golf balls at the beach. George is at the beach with a girl, we haven’t connected them!”
“We write that speech the night before at two o’clock in the morning…The sea was angry that day my friend.”
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Kramer finishes the iconic scene by asking “Is it a Titleist?” Seinfeld told Eisen the show sought Titleist’s permission to mention its name, saying the ball had to be a Titleist. Fortunately for lovers of the iconic show, the company agreed.
If (somehow) you’re unfamiliar with the scene, check it out below.
More from the 19th Hole
- Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game “on a much more global basis”
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Tiger explains why golf has “negative connotations” for daughter Sam
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19th Hole
Phil Mickelson drops big retirement hint; Says LIV will grow the game ‘on a much more global basis’
While speaking with Bloomberg, golf legend Phil Mickelson acknowledged that he is inching close towards retirement.
“I’m 53 now,” Phil said, “and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end.”
Mickelson added that one of his focuses now is helping other young players.
“Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game has provided me. I’d like them to experience that as well.”
The six-time major champion credited LIV with reaching new markets in golf to help it grow.
“I think that’s exciting for everyone involved in the game because we are going to reach markets that we didn’t reach before. I think it’s going to inspire more golf courses, inspire more manufacturers selling clubs and equipment, but also inspiring young kids to try to play golf professionally. I just see that the game of golf is going to grow on a much more global basis because of the excitement and the presence that LIV Golf has.”
Mickelson is playing at this week’s LIV Singapore and shot a first round 72 (+1).
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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19th Hole
Tiger explains why golf has ‘negative connotations’ for daughter Sam
While Tiger Woods’ son, Charlie, has certainly inherited his father’s love for golf, his daughter, Sam, has not.
On Wednesday, Tiger made an appearance on The Today Show with Carson Daly and explained his daughter’s relationship with golf.
“Golf has negative connotations for her. When she was growing up, golf took daddy away from her. I had to pack, I had to leave, and I was gone for weeks. So, there were negative connotations to it.
“We developed our own relationship and our own rapport outside of golf. We do things that doesn’t involve golf. Meanwhile, my son and I, everything we do is golf related.”
The nine-minute interview touches on plenty of other subjects, such as Tiger’s relationship with his late father, Earl.
It’s arguably the most open we’ve seen the 15-time major champion in an interview and is most definitely worth watching.
Tiger Woods sits down with Carson Daly to talk about golf, growing up in Southern California, his father and his new apparel line, Sun Day Red. pic.twitter.com/2TFbSNxzxq
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 1, 2024
More from the 19th Hole
- The wild reason why Mark Wahlberg was initially denied entry to an Australian golf club
- 2-time major champ announces shock retirement from the sport at age of 33
- Edoardo Molinari reveals the latest PGA Tour golfer to turn down ‘good offer’ from LIV Golf
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