Why Rory McIlroy feels ‘limited’ off the tee after the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday

DUBLIN, Ohio – Rory McIlroy succinctly summarized his week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.

“Two steps forward, one step back,” McIlroy said after a final-round 4-under 68.

What did he like? Well, he had good things to say about his iron play, short game and putting. That left one notable, glaring part of his game missing.

McIlroy’s superpower is his driving ability. When it’s right, he far outpaces any other driver on the PGA TOUR. Right now, he’s not right. The stats will hint at it, but don’t tell the full picture. He hit only 30 of 56 fairways at the Memorial, yet he still ranked 11th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. What really matters is how it feels, and McIlroy didn’t hide the fact that he doesn’t feel great.

“Off the tee still wasn't where I want it to be,” McIlroy said. “Thankfully, the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here. But, yeah, still need to work on that. I need to work on how I'm hitting it off the tee.”

McIlroy didn’t stop there. Asked if he knows what he needs to work on, McIlroy said “absolutely,” then launched into a soliloquy that will be music to any golf nerd’s ears. Here it is in its entirety.

“I get a little bit underneath the plane on the way down and then from there I try to drag the handle to match it up, and then I get toe strikes, and then the toe strikes are – like, so if I'm aiming a touch left trying to hit a cut and I get a touch underneath it and then I try to save it by dragging the handle, I hit it off the toe and then it goes left,” McIlroy said. “But then if I try to hit with one with a draw or pretty neutral, I'll still get a little bit underneath it, and I'll release it and it will overturn a little bit. But I have to try to get the club back out in front of me. But then when it gets out in front of me, if I do get it there, then it's about having the right release pattern on the way through.

“You look very confused,” McIlroy concluded, directing his eyes to the reporter who asked the question.

“I’m limited,” the reporter said.

“I feel limited at the minute, too,” McIlroy responded.

McIlroy wasn’t distraught in his assessment, just matter-of-fact. In his eyes, there’s work to do before the U.S. Open in two weeks, but it’s not dire. He carded his fifth straight top 20 at the Memorial and was happy with the other parts of his game, all of which will be needed to contend at the U.S. Open. He will return home to London on Sunday night, where is family has recently moved into a new home. He will work on the issues there for most of the week, then fly back to the New York area on Saturday.

McIlroy has shown a knack for quickly working out the kinks in his swing. At the Masters earlier this year, he spent Saturday night after his round working through driver issues that plagued him for the first three days. He returned on Sunday feeling much better and drove the ball exceptionally well to win his second green jacket in as many years.

In Augusta, he fixed the issue in less than an hour. This time, he will have an entire week to turn it around.

“Just try to keep getting a little bit better each and every day heading into Shinnecock,” he said.