McIlroy's underachievement continues

A Sunday evening in the autumnal sunshine at Royal County Down must be one of the most pleasant experiences you can have in sport.

The world renowned links was shown in its best light over the past week, with the Irish Open beaming into the homes of golf fans all around the world.

Regularly ranked as one of the best, if not the best, golf course in the world, Royal County Down showed over the course of the four championship days how good golf course design, and not just pure length, can challenge the world’s best.

In an era where many of the stakeholders at the top championship courses - Augusta included - are wondering how to negate the power game employed by so many of the leading professionals now, the quality and trickery of Royal County Down, coupled with some help from the weather, provided more than a stiff test for the field last week.

Coupled with the magnificent views at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, it was four days to savour for Irish golf.

The views, I’m sure, were of little consolation to Rory McIlroy, though, as he had to deal with another title slipping away in the most agonising of fashion.

One wonders, as he threw his head to the sky in the closing stages of Sunday’s final round, just what was going through his mind as he started to reflect on a two-shot lead with four holes to go turning into a one-shot deficit and another second place finish.

Of course, it’s a raw situation for the world number three: this summer, his failure to seal the deal at the US Open and end a ten-year major drought led to a major introspection and time away from the game, on a day when he missed a pair of short putts coming down the closing straight.

His failure to close out the Irish Open on Sunday will hardly lead to such a deep examination of his credentials, but it’s still hard to escape the fact that this is starting to happen a little too regularly.

The final round, as they tend to, threw up a bolter in the form of Rasmus Hojgaard, a highly rated player from Denmark who plays on tour alongside his brother, Nicolai.

Rasmus had luck on his side, too, in completing a final round of six-under-par 65. He birdied six of his final nine holes, with three of them coming on 16, 17 and 18. He also chipped in twice; his hole-out from a bunker shot on 17 was the game-changer in terms of the tournament.

And while such a strong back nine looks would suggest he went and won this tournament, it will probably be remembered as one McIlroy lost.

In charge of the situation with a two shot lead with four holes to play, McIlroy made two birdies in that closing stretch but, critically, made two sloppy bogeys as well. Hojgaard was able to take advantage of those missteps.

The bogey on 15 arrived after a somewhat misfortunate approach shot, which nestled in a tricky spot to the right of the green. That is somewhat forgivable.

But his putt on 17 for birdie - from 30 feet - was puzzling. He charged the ball at the hole and it ran several feet beyond the cup. The missed putt back left him trailing by two heading to the 18th tee, and even with a valiant effort to make eagle sliding narrowly by, there’s little doubt the damage was done on the green on 17 as opposed to 18.

It presents several questions. Why did McIlroy feel the need to force the issue on 17 and race his birdie putt at the hole? Hindsight is great, but even at that time, with the par-five 18th to come, a par would have left him in a fine position and, at worst, with a better than evens chance at making a play-off.

Perhaps he was energised by the buzz of being the local hero on home turf.

Coming from Holywood, just an hour away, McIlroy spoke emotionally in the aftermath of Sunday’s round of the thrill he got from playing in front of such a loyal crowd, willing the home favourite to victory.

In terms of an atmosphere, McIlroy will hardly play in a more supportive environment, which makes his shaky finish all the more curious. Did that pressure of being an Irish player at the Irish Open - as he has spoken about before - come to the fore in those final few holes?

And, despite all that went before, he still summoned the courage to hit two superb shots down the 18th, with a towering approach settling 12 feet from the flag. He hit a good putt, too, as he tried to force a play-off with a closing eagle - the ball sliding by the cup probably summed up McIlroy’s year, or past few years. Close, but not close enough.

“Unfortunately, I’m getting used to it this year. Hopefully, the tide is going to turn pretty soon and I can turn all these close calls into victories,” McIlroy told reporters after his round.

As one of the leading players in the world, McIlroy’s return of three victories this year is not, on the face of it, a bad outcome and he still has the chance to win yet another Race to Dubai title, potentially his sixth, an achievement that would place him ahead of the great Seve Ballesteros in Order of Merit wins.

Yet, we all know the only currency McIlroy trades in now is major championships. All of the great players are judged on how many times they produce the goods in one of the big four tournaments a year. McIlroy’s haul of four major titles represents a significant underachievement. Is that a harsh assessment?

Perhaps, but you have to take into account the raw talent that McIlroy possesses, and all the near misses in the last decade. You could make the case for Rory to have won maybe half a dozen more major championships.

Given the absence of another star name in golf over the 15 years as Tiger Woods’ decline set in, McIlroy has been unfairly measured against the greatest player the sport has ever seen.

The major factor that appears to separate the two is a killer instinct that McIlroy hasn’t had when it has mattered most in recent seasons. Sunday’s final round provided evidence of that once again.

One journalist referred to McIlroy’s latest disappointment as a ‘gut-punch’ - the question is how many more can McIlroy take?