Smith: "Rory McIlroy looks apathetic... does he think it's all downhill from here?"

For the remainder of his career Rory McIlroy will never be able to head into a major championship without making the headlines. 

That is just the nature of the beast and this week the Ulsterman arrives at the U.S. Open with question marks over his form and desire. 

McIlroy, as you would expect, took a brief break from the sport following his Masters triumph in April. 

Champagne - and the tears - flowed as he celebrated back home in Holywood. 

Many believed an unburdened McIlroy would come back all guns blazing, ready to contend at the remaining majors and perhaps complete a clean sweep. 

He would've surely felt confident heading into the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow given he has won there on four occasions. 

McIlroy has also been getting to grips with the gruelling tests provided by U.S. Opens in recent years and who would bet against the 36-year-old playing in front of his home fans at Royal Portrush?

But when he returned he failed to mount a challenge for the Wanamaker Trophy after he drove the ball terribly by his standards.  

And last week in Canada, an apathetic McIlroy registered one of his worst performances statistically on the PGA Tour.

It's obviously far too soon to make any wild declarations just yet but it did briefly cross my mind watching McIlroy's news conference on Tuesday that it just may have dawned on him that the only way is down from here. 

Of course, McIlroy could go on to win double digit majors and do the improbable by leading Europe to an away victory in a Ryder Cup. He might even win an Olympic medal. 

But if he doesn't, will it matter to him now that he's scaled his own Everest? Absolutely not. 

Alarmingly, McIlroy doesn't seem too focussed on what is next. 

"I have no idea," he said when asked for his plans for the next five years. 

"I'm just sort of taking it tournament by tournament at this point. 

"Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don't think about what comes next."

Perhaps what McIlroy needs to do going forward is to try and play with a chip on his shoulder, even if one doesn't exist. 

Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley also believes this would be the right path for McIlroy. 

"I'm no psychologist but it looks like the air has been sucked out of him a little since that, not just in the way he's played but in his press conferences," McGinley told Sky Sports. 

"It's very un-Rory-like to have such low energy. This is not normal Rory.

"This is not when he's at his best. In my opinion, I think he's at his best when he's p----- off or following off a big loss or something that went wrong."

Hopefully McIlroy can find a spark soon but it's doubtful he will find it at Oakmont, given he described the course as 'almost impossible' as recently as last week. 

Time for Joaquin Niemann to step up 

Phil Mickelson declared, hilariously, that Joaquin Niemann was the best player in the world only a few months ago. 

Lefty also went one step further by predicting Scottie Scheffler wouldn't win before the 2025 Ryder Cup matches are played. 

Unsurprisingly, Mickelson was wrong. 

But I do think Niemann's form should be noted ahead of the U.S. Open. 

The 26-year-old Chilean is the runaway individual standings leader in the LIV Golf League. 

While you may scoff at that, you have to give credit to Niemann for routinely beating the likes of Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, even if the rest of the field is made up of ageing European Ryder Cup stars and Anthony Kim. 

But now it's time for Niemann to show us that he should be taken seriously. 

Data Golf ranks Niemann as the fifth best player in the world behind Scheffler, DeChambeau, Rahm and McIlroy. 

Yet his major record is simply baffling. 

He's finished inside the top 20 only twice in 24 major championship starts, though he cracked the top 10 for the first time last month at Quail Hollow. 

"I've just got to keep getting closer and try to knock on the door," Niemann told reporters in North Carolina last month.  

"All I have to do is keep my patience in the majors because you don’t win with low scores. 

"I know if I have one [major] I'm going to have another and then another."

Talking about winning multiple majors before you've crossed the line in one is quite the approach to take. 

Why don't we start with a top five first, Joaco?