PEBBLE BEACH—For an hour or two on an attractive Sunday afternoon on the crown jewel of American golf, it felt like all is true with the PGA Tour.
On the top of his powers, Rory McIlroy added a signature efficiency to his Corridor of Fame profession. His very presence, together with 43 others within the prime 50 of the World Rating, put an exclamation level on the AT&T Pebble Seashore Professional-Am’s evolution from a drained, celebrity-driven Clambake right into a big-time match anchoring the West Coast swing. McIlroy’s mastery with Pebble because the stage made for riveting TV. Having fought his solution to a two-stroke lead by 13 holes, McIlroy launched from the 14th tee one of many extra memorable drives within the latest historical past of Pebble Seashore, a 339-yard missile that touched 190 miles per hour of ball pace and 168 toes at its apex. He adopted with a towering 7-iron from 201 yards that left him 27 toes for eagle, a putt he brushed in like a observe spherical gimme. Recreation over.
His enjoying accomplice and shut pal Shane Lowry might solely shake his head ruefully. “I always say, when him or Scottie (Scheffler) have their A-game, they’re unbeatable,” says Lowry, who completed second as his closing 68 was bettered by McIlroy’s 66. “It’s that simple. I’m not down on myself for not winning—I’m not stupid.”
McIlroy has recently been speaking brazenly about attempting to emulate Scheffler’s environment friendly, mistake-averse model of play, and that’s precisely what he produced at Pebble, most particularly throughout a bogeyless 65 on Saturday in classic Crosby climate. “He did all the right things,” says Justin Rose, who tied for third. “He had control of his wedges. He was controlling all of his distances quite nicely. It was a very professional round of golf.” Rose’s smirk betrays that the impetuous McIlroy has, prior to now, been liable to schoolboy errors. McIlroy has extra firepower than every other participant on Tour so it’s scrumptious to consider what he may accomplish if he marries his energy with extra management and self-discipline. So, Shane, at this very second, whose greatest golf is definitely one of the best?
“I’ll still argue the case for Rory,” Lowry says.
McIlroy’s twenty seventh Tour victory strikes him inside one among Paul (Little Poison) Runyan and Leo Dingle for twentieth on the all-time listing. Barring the unexpected, McIlroy, 35, is a 12 months or two away from passing legends like Lee Trevino (29 wins), Horton Smith (30) and Jimmy Demaret (31). Attending to 31 Tour victories would make McIlroy among the many 15 most prolific winners within the historical past of the game. With this dominant efficiency he has set himself up for yet one more date with future on the Masters, the lacking piece in McIlroy’s 11-year quest to assert the profession Grand Slam. He has had loads of heartbreak at Augusta Nationwide, to say nothing of the Previous Course. Pebble Seashore completes golf’s holy trinity.
“And I had a big fat zero on all of those going in here,” McIlroy stated following the ultimate spherical. “So to knock one off [at] Pebble is very cool.”
McIlroy despatched a message together with his tee shot on the 14th gap through the closing spherical at Pebble Seashore. (GETTY/Ezra Shaw)
The texture-good win is precisely what the beleaguered Tour wanted. However 4 glowing days at Pebble Seashore is just not sufficient to radically alter the discourse. Lacking within the discipline was the largest star within the recreation, LIV’s Bryson DeChambeau, who final week needed to go all the way in which to India to discover a recreation. The continued Tour wars additionally disadvantaged the sphere of 5-time Pebble champ Phil Mickelson; essentially the most prolific main championship winner of the post-Tiger period, Brooks Koepka; and the heavyweight duo of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton, who, together with McIlroy, will lead the European Ryder Cup group this September at Bethpage.
With their gentle workload, LIV’ers have the mojo to journey the world (like DeChambeau’s cameo on the Asian Tour) and produce copious quantities of fun-loving content material for YouTube. The Tour has made some ham-fisted makes an attempt to co-opt the YouTube crowd however 80 amateurs have been invited to play in Pebble’s Professional-Am format and never a single one was a younger/hip influencer or content material creator. D’oh!
Pebble was an indication of the occasions in different methods: The heavy workload of the Signature Occasion period has taken a toll on Tour stars. Xander Schauffele remains to be out with a nagging rib damage. Viktor Hovland (toe) and Jordan Spieth (wrist surgical procedure) made belated season debuts at Pebble Seashore. In the meantime, a weary McIlroy confirmed final week that he’ll reduce his worldwide begins from 27 in 2024 to 22 this 12 months, a critical lack of field workplace. The not too long ago launched TGL isn’t serving to: McIlroy flew into Pebble final Tuesday after having performed a TGL match the evening earlier than after which was dashing from California again to Florida to compete in one other TGL outing the day after his win.
The arrival of the TGL, with its brisk 40-second shot clock, has had one other unlucky consequence for the Tour by highlighting its deplorable sluggish play. This isn’t information: Lee Trevino appeared on the duvet of Golf Journal in 1973 beneath the headline: TREVINO DECLARES WAR ON SLOW PLAY. The Tour has at all times had quite a few guidelines about sluggish play however zero resolve to implement them; between 1995 and 2017 not a single one-stroke slow-play penalty was doled out. With a lot latest outrage about sluggish play, the Tour felt compelled to launch on the eve of Pebble’s first spherical a 4-point plan to fight the scourge. It was onerous not to consider Gordon Gekko’s riff in Wall Road: “One thing I know is our company lost $110 million last year and I’ll bet that half of that was spent in all the paperwork going back and forth between all these vice presidents.”
Then got here the match correct and Tom Kim spent greater than a minute farting round over his ball on the sixth gap at Pebble Seashore earlier than slicing it into the ocean, resulting in extra outrage on Golf Twitter and mild-mannered Frank Nobilo to sigh on nationwide TV, “That was not worth the wait.” Some issues by no means change. (Not less than Kim’s shot was proven; on Sunday, TV viewers missed the leaders enjoying the dramatic sixth and seventh holes as a result of dreaded protection hole when Golf Channel switches to CBS. @NoLayingUp’s tweets captured the outrage: “There’s just no way this is happening in 2025.”)
Spieth’s return to competitors was a welcome growth—who doesn’t love Jordan?—however his sponsor’s exemption into the Pebble discipline highlighted the Tour’s ongoing id disaster. When LIV launched, the Tour’s strongest rebuttal was that it’s the sport’s premiere meritocracy. The sanctity of getting to make a reduce grew to become a form of ethical code. However the Signature Occasions are actually principally bloated LIV tournaments: no reduce; assured cash; gamers given invites primarily based on reputation, not advantage. Spieth, a longtime AT&T endorser, hasn’t had a top-5 end in 20 begins because the 2024 Professional-Am. McIlroy didn’t appear too inquisitive about debating the propriety of the Tour’s most essential tournaments giving freely treasured spots within the discipline: “If AT&T writes a big check….”
After I requested McIlroy following the primary spherical if he’s involved about the way forward for the Tour he snapped, “I’m concerned about myself.” Following his win he felt a bit extra expansive. “If I worry about myself and this [kind of victory] happens, if that’s good for the Tour, it’s good for the Tour. But it’s better for me. I’ve spent so much energy worrying about the Tour and where everything is going, it’s draining. I’m at the point where I want to focus on me. We’ll see where the numbers are at but hopefully this gets good ratings. That would help everything.”
On Sunday night, Tour veteran Charley Hoffman despatched a scolding e-mail to his fellow gamers and one line specifically appeared directed at McIlroy, who continues to assist the European Tour, too: “Many of you keep saying you want to play fewer events, yet you find time for the TGL, the Race to Dubai, and other non-PGA Tour events…” This adopted Justin Thomas’s letter to the gamers final week beseeching them to be extra open with the media. Almost three years into its existential battle with LIV, the Tour has clearly reached an inflection level.
For all of the discuss, McIlroy is true: one of the best factor he can do is proceed to provide wondrous golf. His efficiency at Pebble Seashore was a wanted reminder of why all of us love this dumb recreation, and why we’re so invested in McIlroy’s continued evolution as a participant.
“It’s fun to watch, innit?” Lowry stated. “When he gets going like that, it’s a helluva show.”
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