CARNOUSTIE, Scotland — Rory McIlroy hears the chatter.
McIlroy understands the questions about why, after winning four major championships in four years, starting with his U.S. Open win in 2011 and climaxed by his second career PGA Championship victory in 2014, he’s yet to win another.
“The more success you have, the more pressure you put on yourself because of expectations,” McIlroy said Wednesday.
Asked if he feels, beginning with this week’s British Open at Carnoustie, which began Thursday, like he needs to “cement” his legacy with more major championships, McIlroy said: “At this point I’m not trying to cement anything. Obviously, I’ve had a decent career up until this point, and I’ve got a lot of time left to add to major tally or just tournaments won or whatever it is.
“Look, I was on a nice run there from 2011 to 2014. I haven’t won one since, but I’m trying. I’m trying my best every time I tee it up, and it just hasn’t happened. You know, I’ll give it a good go this week.”
Padraig Harrington, a fellow Irishman, called for some perspective when analyzing McIlroy, who has a win this year, at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
“Rory’s obviously played well this year and yet seems to be getting a lot of press saying he’s not playing so well,” Harrington said. “Clearly, his career is now solely based on how he does in the majors. There seems to be no other yardstick for Rory, and that’s probably the yardstick he uses himself.
“I think back in 2011 he had stolen a match [had the advantage] on the field when it came to driving the golf ball, which brought tremendous confidence to his game and all the way through his game. I think at this stage players have caught up. There’s many players who drive the ball comparable and have certainly eaten into that advantage.
“If we look at history, when you start in the modern era, start trying to get to seven, eight majors, nine majors, let alone getting up to 14 (Tiger Woods) and 18 majors (Jack Nicklaus), it took 20 years for Jack to get 18 majors. And for the eights and the nines there with [Tom] Watson and [Gary] Player, you’ll find it took 20 years too, certainly 15 years.
“And you’re judging Rory over seven years. Give him another seven years and see if he’s got eight in the bag. Are we disappointed with that then? The beauty for Rory is he’s still very young, he’s still very capable, and with patience those majors will come. Rory is well on pace to get into double digits with majors, but it has got harder. There’s no doubt there’s more players out there who are capable of having a big week and a big game for a major. It makes it tough.”
This week is a special one for McIlroy, because the last time the Open was played at Carnoustie, in 2007, he won the silver medal as the low amateur.
“It doesn’t seem like 11 years ago that The Open was here last,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully, I can create some more good memories this week. I obviously remember that week very fondly for different reasons. I hadn’t even turned pro yet and didn’t know what to expect or the journey that I was about to embark on.
“So to be back and be in a different position, it feels good. And to be talked about as one of the guys that could win, and to already have a Claret Jug is very nice, but obviously I want to add to my collection. It would be nice to win at Carnoustie, where I was able to pick up a silver medal a few years ago.”
