FLOURTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA | How is this for a storyline?
The most popular golfer in the game, Rory McIlroy, finally wins the Masters with a heart-stopping, we’re-all-feeling-light-in-the-head victory that also completes his career Grand Slam.
Then Justin Thomas wins the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town, his first victory in nearly three years, validating his walk back from golf’s wilderness.
Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak, two popular guys searching for their first win, get it at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans before Scottie Scheffler shoots 31-under par to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson with a performance that should have been accompanied by a lion’s roar.
Now it’s the Truist Championship at storied Philadelphia Cricket Club followed by the PGA Championship next week at Quail Hollow Club, where every thematic thread is in place for a Scorsese-quality epic.
Pretty good run, huh?
It’s a bit like that T-shirt slogan that says, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making plans.”
The PGA Tour could hardly ask for anything more.
It doesn’t promise that every week will produce a stand-alone storybook tournament but after weeks and months of on-again, off-again chatter about what may or may not be good for the tour, the past month could hardly have been better.
It hasn’t been about private-equity investment or board meetings. It’s been about content creation, the old-fashioned kind.
“Obviously Rory winning the Grand Slam was huge. It was inspiring to me. Obviously it’s not like I didn’t realize I wanted to win a Grand Slam before that, but just that it’s even more motivating,” Thomas said.
“It’s such a funky game in the sense of anybody can win any week, but to have your top guys or guys that are maybe a little bit more of the needle, if you will, playing well on some of the biggest stages like Rory and Scottie did, I would assume that it is helpful.”
When Thomas saw McIlroy at home afterward, he told him he wanted some Sunday drama but the finish took it to the extreme.
He assumes correctly.
Even now, four weeks after Augusta, the echoes associated with McIlroy’s green-jacket moment continue.
Tour players can be ambivalent toward what happens if they’re not in contention but the Masters was different.
“I was glued to the TV,” said Thomas, who finished his Sunday round early enough to be back home in south Florida to ride the final-round roller coaster like a fan.
When Thomas saw McIlroy at home afterward, he told him he wanted some Sunday drama but the finish took it to the extreme.
“I didn’t want to see somebody win by four or five as a golf fan,” Thomas said.
“Then for a second I was like, all right, dude, it’s a tournament now. You’re good.”
Xander Schauffele put on his fan hat, too.
“I was in the parking lot and doing the sort of classic – some friends and some family there. Everyone wants to take a photo. I was like we need to get home and watch the end of this because I don’t know what’s happening. I was definitely a fan in that moment,” Schauffele said.
At the Truist Championship on Wednesday, McIlroy played a nine-hole pro-am at Philadelphia Cricket Club that finished shortly after 9 a.m. followed by a media session, a good portion of which was devoted to his Masters victory and its aftermath.
His most interesting reflection?
“The worst I felt on Sunday at Augusta was probably when I holed the birdie putt on 10 to go four ahead because I’m like, oh, I really can’t mess this up now. There’s that pressure,” McIlroy said.
He messed it up but he ultimately saved it. Shortly thereafter, McIlroy and his family were off to London to check on the progress on the house that will become their summer base going forward. Then it was a couple of days with his parents in Northern Ireland, where he felt the full impact of his journey.
“With my dad, like I never get that emotional with my dad. It was great. It was great to see him. Then when I saw my mom, we were both a mess for a few minutes,” McIlroy said.
“Look, as an only child, I have a bond. I’m lucky, and I know a lot of people feel this, that they have a close bond with their parents, but I think as time goes on and I’m getting a little older, I realize that they’re not going to be around forever. It means even more that they were still around to be able to see me complete the Slam and fulfill those dreams.”
“Had a second breakfast, now back to work.” – Rory McIlroy
McIlroy worked three days with his coach, Michael Bannon, in south Florida last week, did the talk show scene in New York for a couple of days and turned up here on Tuesday.
“Had a second breakfast, now back to work,” said McIlroy, walking onto the practice range carrying various implements after his Wednesday morning duties.
This is a one-off week, the Truist Championship relocating to the outskirts of Philadelphia before returning to its usual host, Quail Hollow, next year. The Wissahickon course at Philly Cricket is a classic, golden-age layout, the kind of place the tour rarely goes now because of the infrastructure demands for big events.
The weather forecast – rain late Thursday into Friday – will likely dull the edge and, while no one expects another 31-under par winning score like Scheffler posted last week, the course’s generous fairways and softened greens may leave it defenseless.
“It’s an older course that’s been renovated [in 2013-14], and I think they’ve done a really good job with it … but it’s not like a brand-new renovation,” McIlroy said.
“When it was renovated, it probably would have held up to the distances that were being hit, but even now 10 years on, I feel like every par-4 out there is like 430, 440. They sort of feel like they’re 40 or 50 yards [shorter] than what they need to be. Still, it’s a cool track to play.”
It’s a cool time for the PGA Tour, too.