Rory McIlroy is not normally known for hurling random daggers, but he tossed one in the direction of Chambers Bay after The Players Championship last week, where he finished T12.
"I'm looking forward to going to a nice, traditional course," McIlroy said of going to Oakmont for this year's U.S. Open. "Not like we're playing on the moon."
"The moon," of course, is a reference to Chambers Bay, to credit McIlroy, did sort of resemble what the moon probably looks like during the U.S. Open last year.
McIlroy's T12 at TPC Sawgrass was a mild disappointment after he shot 64 in Round 2. Former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley recently questioned McIlroy's concentration.
"I don't think his putting is his problem at the moment," McGinley told the Irish Examiner. For some reason, his concentration levels are down, and I don't know why. You wouldn't question his bottle, that's for sure. He has proved that at the very highest level. I think he is just lacking a little bit of confidence because he hasn't won for a while. And he is lacking a little bit of focus.
"It is not his game. It is not his putting or his chipping. And it's not his balls because we know he can handle the big occasions. But he is not focusing like you need to do for 72 holes. He is coming in and out of focus and still finishing in the top 10 or thereabouts every week. I don't think Rory can even answer why. When he got a lead in the past he would run away from everybody. He just needs to get back to where he was in terms of his concentration and focus."
That's probably fair, though I would like to point out that McIlroy isn't even in the top 100 in strokes gained putting this season on the PGA Tour. As he noted himself after The Players, it seems like he should be winning based on the way he's hitting the golf ball (No. 3 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained tee to green).
"It is hard to temper it because I feel like I'm playing good enough golf with the way I'm hitting the shots to win golf tournaments," said McIlroy. "And I haven't won a golf tournament this year. The last golf tournament I won was in Dubai in November, so it feels like a long time ago now.
"But again, I need to stay patient because if I keep pushing and keep looking for the win, that's when these sloppy mistakes start to creep in. I just need to go out there and play my game and trust that I'm playing well enough for the chips to fall my way sooner rather than later."
Soon enough.
Probably.
