Latest news with #Rory
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Is there really a Masters Curse? It would explain Rory McIlroy's recent play
Is there really a Masters Curse? It would explain Rory McIlroy's recent play A lot of time has been spent analyzing Rory McIlroy's post-Masters funk. No one, however, wants to contemplate the unthinkable. The Masters Curse. Ridiculous? Yeah, sure it's ridiculous. How on Earth could it be bad for a golfer's career to win a major golf championship so steeped in history and tradition that even non-golfers know about the Green Jacket and Amen Corner? A Masters hangover is a natural occurrence and quite forgivable, and that's a big part of what Rory is dealing with. Well … that and having his driver deep-sixed at the season's next major — the PGA Championship a month later — when it was deemed non-conforming after some routine testing. That's not unusual, since the wear and tear on the driver's clubface eventually thins the front plate beyond the tolerance level. Even Scottie Scheffler had his driver taken away before the PGA (and won anyway, by the way). Rory finished 47th at the PGA and shunned media requests along the way. He later raised eyebrows by skipping Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament so he could play the week before the U.S. Open, which he did, for two days — he missed the 36-hole Canadian Open cut by 12 shots. TWELVE! Rory then finished 19th in the U.S. Open, which actually wasn't that bad considering how miserable he looked during the entire four-day trudge. After finally completing the career grand slam with his Masters win, he's a man searching for new motivation. More: Lynch: Rory McIlroy had three goals in 2025. He's achieved the first, now on to the second Will he find it? Yeah, most likely. Unless there really is some sort of a Masters hex. These Masters champions left it all at Augusta National Crazy talk? Well, let's examine over a third of the Masters winners from the 21st Century. For some (Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Scottie), their Masters win was the first of multiple majors. But for over a third of this century's winners, the Masters victory was the final highlight — for now, anyway. None ever won another major, some never won again in North America, one quit the job entirely, and hell, one of 'em even went to prison. Let's examine. Mike Weir (2003): Poor play and injuries sent him tumbling down the world rankings, and by decade's end, he was struggling to maintain PGA Tour status. Trevor Immelman (2008): His career highlight was his last PGA Tour win. Within two years, tendonitis in his left arm was wearing him out. By 40, he was Jim Nantz's wingman in the CBS booth — and a good one, by the way. Angel Cabrera (2009): It was five years before he won one last time on Tour, though he nearly won the 2013 Masters. Over the next decade after his Masters win, he had just two top-10s in 31 majors. After two years in an Argentine prison, he returned to pro golf this year at the senior level and has three wins on the PGA Champions Tour, including the recent Senior PGA Championship. Charl Schwartzel (2011): Has had just five top-10s in his next 42 majors. Reminded us he was still kind of relevant when he signed with the LIV Tour. Danny Willett (2016): As a past champ, he remains Masters-eligible at age 37. But it's the only major for which he retains playing status. He recorded one top-10 in 28 majors after taking advantage of Spieth's 2016 meltdown. Sergio Garcia (2017): After shedding his label as best without a major, he slowly slid away, eventually joining the LIV crowd. He won one ho-hum tournament (the 2020 Sanderson Farms) after his Masters victory, and a few times in Europe, but in 27 majors since that 2017 Masters, there have been zero top-10s and 16 missed cuts. Dustin Johnson (2020): It was his 24th and final PGA Tour win before jumping at the LIV money two years later. He's missed the cut in half of his 18 major starts since 2021. He has one year left on the 10-year U.S. Open exemption, and after that, the Masters could become the only major he plays. That's pretty stunning when you consider his level of play just five years ago. Jon Rahm (2023): It's probably premature to count this guy, since he's just 30 and has contended in a couple majors since winning in Augusta. But the Masters triumph came during a time when he was swearing allegiance to the U.S. tour, and it came eight months before he ditched that tour for LIV. His Masters win certainly gave him added contractual leverage with LIV's rainmakers, but did it also doom his future? Should Tiger Woods be on this Masters list? Maybe Tiger Woods didn't make the above list for obvious reasons. His first Masters win, in 1997, heralded an unmatched decade-plus of dominance. But you can make a case for the curse with Tiger's 2019 Masters victory, which in retrospect has a Damn Yankees feel to it. Quite literally, a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears flowed between Tiger's 14th major (2008) and his 15th (2019). In the post-tournament presser six years ago, he admitted to looking forward to a day or two away from the clubs, beginning the next day. Sounds normal. But Tiger was never exactly normal, and even if he was going to take a day off, it's doubtful he would've admitted it. He might not have sold his soul for that long-awaited return to glory, but he looked like a guy who'd given everything he had left to make it happen. And look what all happened since then. And now consider Rory, who at 36 certainly has a lot of time to get over this Augusta hangover. Unless it's not just a hangover. — Reach Ken Willis at
Irish Daily Mirror
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
'Churlish' Rory McIlroy next golf star to get book treatment from Alan Shipnuk
Phil Mickelson's biographer Alan Shipnuck is writing a book about Rory highly entertaining 'LIV and Let Die' chronicled the rise of the rebel golf tour, while his Mickelson tome 'Phil' lifted the lid on the divisive six-times major winner's career. The Californian author is fascinated with the life and times of the sport's newest Grand Slam winner and his book on McIlroy is due on the shelves in March 2026. "I've spent the last year thinking about Rory McIlroy because he's going to be my next book, and I'm probably 60% done," said the famed American writer. "I have many thoughts about Rory. It's been fascinating to watch this existential crisis he's going through since the Masters and everyone has a theory." Shipnuck revealed to the Indo Sport podcast that he had tried to involve McIlroy in the process but the 35-year-old didn't want to be interviewed specifically for the book. "It's going to be fun to read because I'm having fun writing it, that's always my test," he said. "As a writer you have to be your hardest critic but I've had a lot of fun writing it. He's had a big colourful life and has touched a lot of people along the way. "I said this to Rory, that the last two books I did were big and controversial but I'd like this to be a bit more fun and celebratory because I think there's a lightness to his being. I'm not getting sucked into the recency bias, I'm looking at the whole scale of his career and there's been a lot of joy there. It's going to be an intimate portrait. "We actually had a conversation in the parking lot in Oakmont on Sunday that was really fascinating. I've got to save it for the book but a lot of things were revealed, I'll say that, and it told me so much about Rory. It was very helpful for the book. "A huge part of the Rory brand is the down to earth or human superstar - and a lot of us hope he doesn't lose that because then he loses some of his appeal." After winning at Augusta for the first time in April, thus completing the fabled Grand Slam after a 14-year wait, McIlroy refused to talk to the media during the next major tournament - the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. He did a press conference ahead of the US Open at Oakmont last week but didn't talk again until Saturday, when he was uncharacteristically short with his answers and seemed fed up, although he perked up after his final round 67 as he looked forward to The Open's return to Portrush next month. "I think there's a few things going on and he talked about it, it's just the let down of chasing this dream," said Shipnuck. "But when Phil won the Masters in 2004 to break through after about a dozen years of being the best player with a major, and all the questions about him, that was as cathartic a win as Rory's was. "And Phil just kept going, he had his best year that year and came back and won majors the next year and the year after - you don't have to have a huge let down."Rory's an emotional player, just like Phil was, and I think he's just out of emotion. He just looks so flat on and off the golf course. This churlish version of Rory, is this the real Rory and for 18 years it's been this incredible facade and he was so widely admired and so classy and everyone admired him? "We thought that was the real Rory, but was that all pretend? It makes your head spin thinking about how much he's changed in such a short period of time." Shipnuck can't wait to see how McIlroy reacts to his Portrush return after the drama of his missed cut there in 2019. "I think Portrush is going to be fascinating, and he alluded to this as he was leaving Oakmont," he said. "Like, if he can't summon any energy or emotion to play The Open at Portrush, the course where he shot 61 when he was 16 and that really began his legend, and after what happened last time around when he made eight on the first hole and that incredible Friday when the entire island of Ireland was cheering him on to try to make the cut and the tears, if he goes back there and he just doesn't look like he's into it, then you really have to question what is this last act of his career going to look like. "Clearly it would have been better for Rory if the Masters was on in September and he could have just taken six months off. "I can't believe he's playing this week (at the Travelers) in Connecticut, why is he doing this to himself? Why is he putting himself through it? It's incredible. He just looks so miserable on the golf course and obviously it's affecting his play. "Portrush is just going to be fascinating theatre and if he can dig deep and find something if doesn't, I'm definitely concerned for what this means going forward." Shipnuck claimed that the emotional reaction to McIlroy's Masters triumph was less about the golf played than the appreciation of the Holywood man as a person, and how he has carried the burden of trying to complete the slam. "He had worn this burden and had let us into his heart and soul. That's why the Masters resonated so much," he stressed. "It's the way Rory has let us in that has made people so invested in his accomplishments - and his failures. "So it's been interesting to read on social media how people have quickly said, 'I'm kind of over this guy'. Eighteen years of goodwill, a lot of it has been incinerated in two months."He can get it back, of course, but there's been this sense of let down, it's almost taken away from some of the Masters win. The feelings we all had in April, they've been diminished and now there's these weird questions and weird energy. "It's totally self-induced, it just feels like it's not as much fun as it was. Rory made it fun to be a golf fan and it's less fun right now, and it's not good for anyone."
Time of India
2 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Time of India
'Someone is filming us': American family sunbathing at Gurugram hotel accuse man of recording them
Screenshots from the viral posts. NEW DELHI: A family of Americans, on vacation in India, went through a bad time as they sunbathed next to the pool inside their hotel in Gurugram. Rory and Sage, two sisters travelling with their parents, shared videos of men recording them from their phones from their respective rooms as they along with their mother tried to hide. The sisters travel the world with their parents and shared videos of the disturbing incident. The camera zooms in on a hotel room window where a man is seen standing with his phone, seemingly recording the women as they lie in the sun. In the first video, the woman explains why they were wearing swimwear in the first place. "The tan of all tans? To explain further, the dress in Delhi India is very conservative. Even when swimming, women typically wear clothing so they are fully covered. There is no official rules though, you can wear what you feel comfortable in. As Floridians, anything goes in our book!" she wrote. 'Someone is filming us and they are not being discreet,' the mother says in the video, before calling her husband over and informing him that they are being recorded from a window. In the post caption, the American family wrote, 'Well it looks like we're going to have to find a new past time. If you're a female planning on coming to India, I wouldn't come without a body guard of a man lol. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's A List Of Cheapest Steel Suppliers In 2025 (See List) Steel Suppliers | search ads Search Now Undo Whether you are sun bathing or fully clothed, we are finding this behavior very common in India. ' The incident has sparked widespread concern about the safety and privacy of women, particularly tourists, in India. "There is a reason why indian women don't wear bikinis," commented one user. "On behalf of all the women, Sorry about that," wrote another user. "Why would anyone willingly go to India on holiday?" wrote another.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
'Really Sorry': Internet Reacts After US Tourists Say They Were Filmed At Gurugram Hotel Pool
Last Updated: In the clip, the camera zooms in on a hotel room window where a man appears to be holding up his phone and filming them Two American sisters travelling in India with their family have alleged that a man secretly filmed them from a hotel window while they were sunbathing by the pool in Gurugram. The video they posted about the incident has gone viral, triggering a wave of online apologies and concern from Indian users. The women, Rory and Sage, shared a short video on Instagram through their handle @roryandsageofficial, which has over 16,000 followers. The clip was shared a week ago. In the clip, the camera zooms in on a hotel room window where a man appears to be holding up his phone and filming them. The sisters, visibly uncomfortable, say they were simply relaxing by the pool when they noticed the man watching and possibly recording them. Along with the video, they wrote, 'Well it looks like we're going to have to find a new past time. If you're a female planning on coming to India, I wouldn't come without a body guard of a man lol. Whether you are sun bathing or fully clothed, we are finding this behavior very common in India." Their post quickly sparked reactions online, with several users commenting in support of the sisters and apologising for the behaviour they experienced. One user wrote, 'I am from India and I'm sorry, really really sorry." Another added, 'As an indian yes this is unfortunately v common here. Old retired uncles capturing you." Some offered advice on how to deal with the incident. 'Please report it to the hotel, not the staff present but some senior management and they will take action, if not you can even file a report to the police. This should not be taken lightly and we need strict actions from foreigners, so that they can start taking local women seriously too. It might be a hassle to talk about it, you can send them an email too," one user suggested. Others pointed to a wider issue, saying the problem isn't limited to foreign tourists. 'Traveling to India for a Bikini vacation will only ruin your holiday girlies, even if you walk in your pjs men will keep staring… so don't go at all even we aren't safe!," one comment read. Another person wrote, 'We are sorry for creating an insecurity for you. People in our society never learns to mind their own business. This is the same reason we fight among ourselves a lot…" 'So sorry from any Indian person leaked of your privacy, found on social media, but Indian people is very honest and India is safe place of world for tourism," a user wrote. First Published: June 18, 2025, 22:53 IST
Mint
2 days ago
- Mint
‘Wish AI was strong enough to find that uncle' — US woman accuses man of secretly filming at Gurugram hotel
A video shared by a family of American tourists has caused widespread outrage online after it showed a man allegedly filming two women sunbathing in bikinis from his hotel room window in Gurugram. The footage was posted on Instagram by sisters Rory and Sage, who are travelling the world with their parents. In the clip, the camera zooms in on a man holding his phone up and appearing to record the women from his window as they relax in the sun. The sisters can be seen visibly uncomfortable, while their mother begins filming the man in return. 'Someone is filming us and they are not being discreet,' she says in the video, before calling over her husband and telling him that all three of them are being filmed. In the caption of the post, the family wrote, 'If you're a female planning on coming to India, I wouldn't come without a bodyguard of a man. Whether you are sunbathing or fully clothed, we are finding this behaviour very common in India.' The video quickly went viral, gaining over 9 million views and triggering an online debate about women's safety and privacy in India, particularly for tourists. Social media users condemned the man's behaviour and encouraged the family to report it. 'Please report it to the hotel, not the staff present but some senior management and they will take action, if not you can even file a report to the police,' one user suggested.'As an Indian, I am mostly disgusted by these men who have zero knowledge of civic sense and privacy. Sorry, and hope you are safe and enjoyed our India,' said another.'Ladies, please report him. The hotel staff will be more than helpful. The guy should have been kicked out,' added a third. Another added: 'I wish AI was strong enough to find that Indian uncle and send this video to his wife.'
