After a below-par season in which he failed to claim a single tournament, split with his long-time caddy, and slid down the world rankings, Rory McIlroy is taking a break from tournament golf.
The four-time major champion finished off his 2016-17 season at the Dunhill Links Championship, after which he began three-month hiatus from competitive play as he seeks to rediscover his form, and launch an assault on regaining the world number one ranking in 2018.
On the whole, it has been anything but a season to remember for the 28 year old from Northern Ireland. A persistent rib injury, caused when testing news clubs last winter, prevented him from sticking to his usual training regime and translated into McIlroy failing to win on either the European or PGA Tour in an entire season for just the second time in 10 years.
McIlroy displayed flashes of his electrifying best when he tied-fourth at the WGC HSBC Champions, Arnold Palmer Invitational, and the Open Championship, which were all season-best performances. But there were also missed cuts at the US Open and Dell Technologies Championship, as well as a lacklustre defence of his FedEx Cup crown, which included a failure to qualify for the Tour Championship in Atlanta. It all added up to McIlroy’s worst season since he moved to the United States full-time in 2010, and resulted in him sliding to sixth in the official world golf rankings.
Changing things up
With his form waning, there have been golf-related changes aplenty for McIlroy this season. It started with him signing a US$100 million deal with TaylorMade in May, which came about after his former club sponsor, Nike, departed the golf equipment market. McIlroy was soon flashing TaylorMade’s iconic drivers and trying a vast array of new putters. Although, the new equipment did little to help, as the birdies didn’t come as regularly as they usually would.
That prompted another change, and it was a pretty significant one: McIlroy decided to part ways with long-time caddie JP Fitzgerald in July. The move shocked the golfing world, and ended an almost decade-long partnership that had claimed over 20 titles across the globe. McIlroy ‘needed to mix things up’, claiming he had been taking out frustrations stemming from the form slump on Fitzgerald and didn’t want their personal relationship to be strained as a result.
On the Plus Side
Despite his fading fortunes on the golf course, McIlroy had plenty to celebrate off it in 2017. Most notably, he took the plunge and married Erica Stroll, a former PGA of America employee. There were no pre-wedding jitters on this occasion from McIlroy, who infamously called off his engagement with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki in 2014 after the sight of their wedding invitations made him realise he wasn’t ready for long-term commitment.
This time around, there was no turning back, as McIlroy and Stroll tied the knot in County Mayo following the Masters tournament in April. The opulent ceremony took place in front of a gallery of A-list celebrities and fellow professional golfers, with McIlroy going on to describe it as ‘the best weekend of his life’. In a later interview, he even hinted he would be happy enough without golf, as long as Stroll was by his side.
A rejuvenated Rory?
With life off the course more settled, the bank balance bigger than ever, and a longer-than-usual off-season helping cure the rib injury, McIlroy will be primed to return to his best. A disappointing season behind him, the odds will once again be in Rory’s favour. If you’re looking to get in early, read up on Betsafe’s golf betting strategy to get the lowdown on all the major tournaments.
No one would have been more stunned by this disappointing season than the man himself. McIlroy is renowned as a fierce competitor, and combining a competitive drive with exhilarating talent will only mean one thing: victories. Granted, winning on the PGA Tour is getting increasingly harder as the likes of Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Justin Thomas all staking their claim for supremacy, but McIlroy has the game to pull it off.
Focusing on 2018
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him return to his major-winning best next season, and it may even come as early as April, with a maiden victory at Augusta. That would seal a grand slam of major titles for McIlroy and promptly remind pundits and punters alike of just how talented a player he is.
If Northern Ireland’s finest ever golfing product can rediscover his form, a rise back to the top of the world rankings will undoubtedly be within Rory’s range.