Rory McIlroy says he would love to win an Open Championship at Royal Portrush, which is in McIlroy’s home country of Northern Ireland, and an Open at St. Andrews and a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. His aspirations speak to the appeal of winning a major — not only are you coming out on top in one of golf’s biggest events, but because they’re most often held at the world’s best venues, you’re winning at a gem.
He then added this:
“I’d love to win a PGA at PGA Frisco — not.”
McIlroy laughed (and PGA of America folks likely cringed at the dagger directed at the new course built just outside of their headquarters). But there’s maybe a bigger takeaway here as we descend into Open Championship week at Portrush.
McIlroy seemed in good spirits, and his mood had been a topic since he won the Masters in April and completed the career grand slam. As he spoke more last week, he also sounded motivated, which had also been in question since he left Augusta. The event matters to him. As does the venue.
As does making some amends. Five years ago, when Portrush hosted its second Open, McIlroy shot an almost unfathomable first-round 79, and he went on to miss the cut.
“There’s venues in the game that just mean a little bit more,” McIlroy said. “Frisco might get there one day, who knows. But yeah, and I think, as well, having Portrush from home and the experience I had there last time, you know, I want to — the Friday was amazing, the Thursday, not too much.
“It’s a little like [Novak] Djokovic won the Olympics last year, he knew that was going to be his final chance, and you saw the emotion and you saw how much it meant to him. You think about it, and you can’t pretend that it’s not there. But when you are on the golf course, you just have to go out there and play as if you’re not playing at home and just play as if it’s another golf tournament.
“But yeah, it obviously is a little more — it has a little more, like, emphasis. There’s something extra there.”
With that, members of our staff have each made a to-win and a sleeper selection to assist you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook. It’s an enjoyable endeavor for us. Deploy it as you wish.
On to our analysis.
