Rory McIlroy’s ‘not regular’ behaviour causes actual concern heading into US Open

Paul McGinley is concerned about Rory McIlroy ahead of the US Open at Oakmont, with the Masters champion admitting he has struggled for motivation since completing the career Grand Slam

Paul McGinley has raised concerns about Rory McIlroy’s recent conduct ahead of the US Open, claiming: “This is not normal Rory.”

The world No.2 completed an 11-year quest to win all four majors when he triumphed at Augusta National in April but his form has suffered since. He tied for 47th at the PGA Championship last month, where he suffered drama when his driver was found to be non-conforming, while he missed the cut at the Canadian Open last week as his struggles off the tee continued.

During his pre-US Open media session, McIlroy admitted he was still revelling in his historic Masters triumph but acknowledged he needed to get his act together. His subdued demeanour left former European Ryder Cup-winning captain McGinley concerned.

The Irishman told Sky Sports: “You’d have to say it was very worrying looking at his press conference there. His eyes weren’t alive. The energy was not there.

“He certainly didn’t have the pointy elbows the way we saw coming into the Masters. [At the Masters] he was a man on a mission, he was a man on a bounce, he was a man out to prove something. ‘Get out of my way, here I come.’ You could see that and feel the energy.

“You don’t see it at the moment. I know from my own experience, when you win tournaments, you check out. You don’t feel the same. You want to be there, and you put in the energy, but something inside you is just missing.

“It takes some time for that to reset, and I think he’s going through a period of that. He’s completed a Grand Slam – it’s a huge achievement.

“I’m no psychologist but it looks like the air has been sucked out of him a little since that, not just in the way he’s played but in his press conferences. It’s very un-Rory-like to have such low energy. This is not normal Rory.

“This is not when he’s at his best. In my opinion, I think he’s at his best when he’s p***ed off or following off a big loss or something that went wrong.”

Ahead of the US Open at the unforgiving Oakmont course, McIlroy knows he has to get his head back in the game. Asked if he knew how tough it would be to regain his motivation, he said: “I didn’t know. Look, you dream about the final putt going in at the Masters, but you don’t think about what comes next.

“I think I’ve always been a player who struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament. I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it and you want to sort of relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal.

“I think chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I’m allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. I think it’s trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago.

“Then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working. But at the same time, you have to enjoy what you’ve just accomplished. I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and I will continue to do that.