Rory's incredible final round- is he back ?

I don't think Rory ever went away really. He's just not been consistently great, has always gone through stretches of stellar playing, and also stretches of what I would call uninspired play.

He is a great interview... he's always come across as genuine and down to earth in his interviews, whether it's been a great week or a bad one. He also isn't fond of being the center of attention, even said as much this past weekend when he said that very few people could perform inside that same attention bubble like Tiger did all those years when he was dominating the sport.

Rory doesn't want any part of that. He'd much rather fly under the radar and manage his own expectations versus having to deal with the expectations of the media and the fans. I think that has played a part the disinterested attitude he's shown at times over the past few years, like he'd rather be somewhere else.

Of course - I guess that's to be expected when someone is struggling with their game and going through a down time. It's easy to stay positive and upbeat when you're playing well and in contention on the weekends, but when you're frustrated it's a completely different story. I guess that's why I like watching Phil play... he's still out there grinding and trying to make birdies, even if it's little more than simply vying to make it inside the top 20. And he's been that way his entire career.

Rory definitely has another gear that no one else has. When he's on, when he's putting well - nobody can beat him.

Sometimes I just wonder however if his desire to avoid that 24/7 attention bubble has compromised his desire to achieve that same level of success that Tiger achieved. Maybe he's happy with being a top-10 player with an occasional major victory every few years.

He ain't showing up to these tournaments for money any longer. That ship sailed a long time ago.

But when he's playing like he played yesterday, he's fun to watch. I hope he can keep it going, would love to see him win his first green jacket.

He looked like he was on cruise control on the back nine yesterday,goofing around
with his buddy's and making one great shot after another.
He even said it might have been the best round of golf he's ever played.
Bombing a drive over 370yds.,sticking his irons and draining putts from everywhere.
When he's on and engaged in the competition,he might just be the toughest player
to beat on tour.
Just seems like there are times when he totally loses interest and would rather be doing
something else besides playing golf.

Agree this might be one of the most competitive Masters in a while,with Rory,Phil,Bubba and even
Tiger rounding into shape....GOOD STUFF for the fans and golf in general.

Yes, back....amazing final round. Seems to me with the way he putted, he will be the favorite at Augusta. He'll need to putt like that to win The Masters.....completing the Grand Slam would be a phenomenal achievement. Although he's still so young, IMO he should be mentioned with the all time greats. He might be the most talented golfer of all time!

ZWExton

Agree. I also think that he got wrapped up in mechanics instead of keeping it simple and freeing up his stroke.

He got so cluttered with trying different things and it just really morphed into a prolonged funk for him. And I can't imagine how frustrating that must be for someone as solid from tee to green as he's usually been, to have that length and command of where the ball is going with the full swings, yet struggling that badly with the putter.

A number of players have lost confidence and never gotten it back. Mickelson lost it for a few years, but then found it again with a different technique, but he'd basically hit rock bottom on the greens before he reinvented himself. And for the better part of his career he was considered one of the best putters on tour.

Lee Trevino said it best: "There are two things that don't last long in life: Dogs that chase cars and pros putting for pars."

Rory is back, but could go away again. That's the streakiness / insidiousness of golf at all levels. Rory and Stenson both missed the cut at the Valspar, but a week later were leaders coming down the stretch at Bay Hill. This is golf for all of us. You find a key / epiphany and ride that until it stops working. Then the search starts all over.

Again, golf is peaks and valleys for all of us. Jordan is in a valley right now and Justin Thomas is at a peak and has been riding a wave for quite some time.

You'll see a guy at the top of leader boards for a stretch of time and then he disappears. For all golfers a streak could last a few holes, a round, for weeks, months or years. In Rory's case it was mostly his putting. It was said Brad Faxon told Rory to stop being so technical and just putt basically by feel.

The best story I heard this past weekend was that when Brad Faxon and Joe Durant were in their heyday Faxon was one of the best putters on Tour and Durant was one of the most accurate drivers. Faxon was an inaccurate driver of the golf ball and Durant wasn't a very good putter.

Faxon asked Durant what he thought about when he was driving? Durant said basically he thought of nothing. Durant asked Faxon what he was thinking over a putt? Basically nothing.

In essence Rory was thinking about very little when he was putting this past week.

ZWExton

From what I have read it wasn't a "tip." I read he spent several hours (some say it was 3 hours ) with Brad Faxon working on his putting. Rory is quoted as saying, “I didn’t really hit many putts, it was more of a psychology lesson than anything else.”

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