Will 2023 be the year Rory McIlroy returns to the pinnacle of golf?
Rory McIlroy might not have won a major championship in the 2022 golf season, stretching his run without a win in one of the sport’s big four tournaments to nine years, but what he did do was recapture the imagination of his mass following and perhaps even found the confidence to ensure that he gets his hands back on a major title next year.
Indeed, the US Open, British Open, USPGA and the Masters went amiss for the Northern Irishman — leaving some regrets on what was an overall fantastic season for McIlroy. However, the 33-year-old was still one of the standout players on the tour throughout the course of the year and he boasts the stats and figures to prove it.
In what was a controversial and arguably damning year for golf, as many top professionals switched to the Saudi-backed LIV Tour, it was refreshing to see a player like McIlroy step it up and, in a way, keep the traditional PGA Tour interesting. He picked up three wins this season, landing the CJ Cup and the Canadian Open before pipping Im Sung-jae and 2022 PGA Tour Player of the Year Scottie Scheffler to the $18 million Tour Championship more recently.
That victory at East Lake Golf Course last month would have felt like a major victory for McIlroy, who missed out on the PGA Championship by a single stroke to Irishman Shane Lowry earlier this month. But while he might not have won one of the big four, he did himself justice — finishing inside the top eight at them all, including second at the Masters, third at the Open, fifth at the US Open and eighth in the PGA.
Back up to second in the world rankings and clearly riding the crest of a wave, the big question is whether McIlroy will finally end his major drought in 2023 or will his wait for a fifth championship head into its 10th year? Well, it may come as no surprise that the Northern Irishman is already the favourite to win all four majors in the golf betting and is as short as 23/10 to end next year with at least one more championship title added to his glittering CV.
The one we’re sure he’d love to win most is the Masters. The August National-held championship is the only major missing from McIlroy’s mantle and if he could get a victory at the prestigious Georgia-based course and win the Green Jacket he’d become just the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam — joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen in the history books.
After that it would probably be the Open’s historic Claret Jug, which will be presented on the 18th green at Royal St. George’s in Liverpool next summer. In reality, any of the four majors will do. You could argue all day about which hold the most prestige, but beggars can’t be choosers and the sooner that weight is lifted off McIlroy’s shoulders the better it is for him and golf.
It’s an individual sports where form is at the essence of everything. Yes, he played good golf in 2022, but that can change in an instance — whether it’s one bad tournament or a mental block off the course. McIlroy can return to the top next year, but he needs to ensure he continues this upward trajectory to ensure he can find that consistency again in the upcoming season.
