Rory McIlroy reacts to his angry Wentworth outburst: "It's been my nemesis"

Rory McIlroy has revealed he was angry over a poor lie after getting hot under the collar during the final round of the PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Ben Smith

17 Sep 2023

Rory McIlroy reacts to his angry Wentworth outburst: "It's been my nemesis"

Rory McIlroy revealed the 17th hole at Wentworth has been his 'nemesis' over the years after getting a bit hot under the collar during the final round of the PGA Championship.

McIlroy, 34, began the day 10 strokes behind the leader Ludvig Aberg but in scenes reminiscent of his PGA Tour victory at Quail Hollow in 2010 the Ulsterman briefly vaulted himself into contention with a clinical display on Sunday despite almost missing the cut earlier in the week.

The Northern Irishman tore up the West Course, posting a 7-under 65 with a round that included six birdies and an eagle.

McIlroy did drop a stroke at the par-4 sixth but by the time he reached the 16th hole he was only two off the lead.

In front of enormous crowds, he was surely eyeing up a big finish to post a number given the threat of inclement weather facing the leaders behind.

But McIlroy finished with three consecutive pars on scorable holes.

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Rory McIlroy reacts to his angry Wentworth outburst:

His frustration boiled over on No. 17 when, after a perfect drive, he leaked his approach right and short-sided himself.

McIlroy told a pool of reporters he was angry over the lie. And he demonstrated that anger by smashing his wedge into the ground.

He has never been comfortable with bending his second shot round the corner right-to-left, he said.

"17 has been my nemesis hole over the years," McIlroy said, adding:

"I've never felt comfortable with that second shot. Where the ball, it was sort of more -- it was frustration of the lie, where the ball finished; it was an awkward shot.

"So it was more frustration at that, and then yeah, you know, in the middle of the fairway on 18 again, not being able to make birdie.

"A little disappointed with how finished but still I'll look back on the first 16 holes and think about all the good that I did."

"I'm not getting complacent"

McIlroy will soon turn his attention to the 2023 Ryder Cup.

He will hang around in Europe for a few days, he said, before heading off to Mykonos for a stag do.

Has European captain Luke Donald filled him in on Europe's pairings?

McIlroy said: "Potential pairings, yes. Yeah, I'm sure the 12 of us have a rough idea of how the Friday is going to go."

Asked how Donald has taken to the job, McIlroy added: "He took the job in very weird circumstances, I guess [but], he's taken it in his stride. He's been fantastic with me. If you speak to everyone, we've all been really been pleased with how he and his team have done.

"He doesn't expect me to stand up there and make big speeches and say a lot of things but if I can lead by example by being the first one at a team meeting, the first one at the bus on the way to the course, you know, anything like that... I'm not getting complacent, that's the way I would like to lead if I'm asked to."

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