Paul McGinley on Rory McIlroy: "He's taking more bullets than other players"

Paul McGinley says Rory McIlroy is suffering from fatigue at The Players Championship due to being the lead player voice on the PGA Tour.

Andy Roberts

10 Mar 2023

Paul McGinley on Rory McIlroy: "He's taking bullets more so than other players" — Paul McGinley on Rory McIlroy: "He's taking bullets more so than other…

Paul McGinley believes Rory McIlroy is suffering from "fatigue" as the lead voice of the PGA Tour following his "clumsy" 4-over start at The Players Championship.

McIlroy has been a leading voice for change on the PGA Tour, especially in recent weeks following the circuit's new Designated Events that are set to feature limited fields and no cuts in 2024.

The World No.3 was in a seven-hour board meeting at Bay Hill last week and has been hosting a number of Zoom calls with his fellow players to explain all the latest changes on the PGA Tour as they look to combat the threat of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League.

McIlroy, to the surprise of many, gave credit to the opposition this week for having "benefitted the professional game".

McGinley, speaking on 'LIVE from The Players' alongside Brandel Chamblee and Rich Lerner following the conclusion of play in round one at TPC Sawgrass, believes McIlroy has now "lost his normal focus" as a result of his "battery being down."

McGinley also thinks McIlroy has taken more "bullets" than other player on Tour, and that others need to help him out.

McGinley said:

"What I saw today was him tired, I saw his battery down, I saw a guy that didn't have the same focus, that was getting annoyed with himself, which was unlike him, and I feel the battery was just down.

"When you think what's going on with the game, what's happened even in the last two weeks alone, he had a seven-hour board meeting last week, and he's been front and centre of everything that is going on. He's the guy that is out taking the bullets from the media more so than other players. I'd like to see more players out there as well, backing up their own Tour.

"This is not Rory's Tour. It's not Tiger's Tour. It's not Jay Monahan's Tour. It's not the board's Tour. This is owned by the players, and if this is going to work and these new Designated Events are going to work, everybody has got to go row in behind. They can't just have one spokesperson and let him take all the bullets, everybody has got to be in there supporting and driving this ship forward."

McIlroy, despite board meetings and Zoom calls, went on to finish a very respectable tie for second behind Kurt Kitayama at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week.

McGinley thinks he's now running on empty.

With just three more weeks until The Masters, McGinley wants him feeling fresh for that as he believes he has the best possible opportunity to slip on the Green Jacket this April and complete the career grand slam.

"I see a guy that played very well at Bay Hill and obviously that took a bit out of him last week too, and obviously he's trying to get all the players onside [with the changes]. Not just the top players but the players down because he's such an open guy. He's talking to everybody too about these Designated Events, talking through it and all the reasoning why they are going to move to this new product of the PGA Tour.

"So all of this just takes its toll, and I just think Rory is tired. I just think the battery is down. I'm just hoping that, look it's going to be a big ask to get back in this tournament now (4-over par). He says there he can go out and shoot 65 tomorrow but he's still going to be well off the pace even at that. Can he keep on going for three more days? I just hope there is a bit of rest coming for me between now and Augusta.

"He's on the verge of probably entering The Masters with a stronger chance of completing the career grand slam than he has done for 10 years.

"I think he's a better player now than he has been in the last 10 years. I think he's more equipped from being such a better putter, to being better psychologically, to being a better golfer, to being more experienced than he has been ever entering The Masters. I just hope that he gives himself the best chance.

"This is all done, take a deep breath now, walk away and look after Rory, because what I see is him looking after so many things, and that in turn has a downturn when it comes to his golf and I saw that today. I see a guy who is just fatigued and the battery is low."

This shot from Rory @McIlroyRory escapes from the pine straw and somehow finds the green on the par-5 16th @THEPLAYERSChamp. pic.twitter.com/2rEQ1OR5Mz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 9, 2023

McIlroy, who won the 2019 Players, began his round in terrible fashion with a double-bogey six after chipping his ball off the other side of the green.

He also three-putted for par on the 16th despite standing over a 28-foot putt for eagle.

McGinley added: "Those things just don't happen when he's focused."

It all added up to a 76, leaving him 12 shots behind early pacesetter Chad Ramey and well outside the top 100.

That has now given him a mountain to climb just to make the cut let alone get back in the tournament.

No winner of The Players Championship has ever started with a round worse than 73.

While McGinley considers McIlroy needs a good sleep to get back on track, the four-time major champion admitted after his round that he had been having major issues with getting the settings right in his new driver.

Curiously, he only switched to the TaylorMade Stealth 2 Plus Driver a few weeks ago.

This new driver easily found its way into our Best Golf Drivers buyer guide for 2023.

It was after the first round of the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club hosted by Tiger Woods that McIlroy made the switch.

McIlroy stressed that there was "a lot of user error in there as well" but added "it doesn't look good on me, doesn't look good on TaylorMade."

See McIlroy's comments in full here.

Rory McIlroy is not happy with his driver.
He explained why after a dismal start at #THEPLAYERS .
Read more: https://t.co/McDSKr4HDc
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) March 9, 2023