By Andy Dunn
Back in 2017, Steve Elkington - whose 1995 US PGA win was his only Major triumph - aimed a cheap dig at Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman had missed the cut at the US Open.
Elkington suggested that with “100mill in the bank”, McIlroy was “so bored” playing golf. Understandably, that did not go down well with McIlroy, who took to Twitter to reply: “More like 200mill, not bad for a ‘bored’ 28-year-old. Plenty more where that came from.”
It was a somewhat touchy, bragging riposte but the accusation and the accuser deserved it. At the time, it had been three years since McIlroy had won his fourth Major. After another disappointing performance at the 2024 Masters, it is now coming up to ten years.
In 2023, the PGA Tour paid McIlroy £12million for being named No.1 on its Player Impact Program (PIP), an initiative that rewards players for, mainly, their social media impact. In other words, the PGA Tour paid McIlroy £12million for, well, being McIlroy.
In 2022, the PGA Tour paid McIlroy £10million for, well, being McIlroy.
In endorsements and prize money, McIlroy collected another £65million over those two years.
So, when, seven years ago, he pointed out Elkington had woefully underestimated his wealth, McIlroy had a point. But with every Major that passes without the most talented golfer of his generation at the top of the leaderboard, it gets easier to believe Elkington also had a point.
There are various estimates of McIlroy’s net worth but none come in under the £200million mark (as he indeed suggested to the man nicknamed The Elk). It is safe to say that if a sporting comfort zone is defined by accumulated wealth, McIlroy could be luxuriating. And if that sort of comfort took even the slightest edge off a sportsman or sportswoman’s competitiveness, it would be perfectly understandable.
But there is no evidence to suggest that is what has happened to McIlroy.
Earlier this year, he secured his 38th tournament victory by winning the Dubai Desert Classic. When McIlroy won the 2023 Race to Dubai (the old European Tour’s Order of Merit), it was for the fifth time, and he has won the FedEx Cup (the PGA Tour’s equivalent) on three occasions, the last being in 2022.
He has spent over 120 weeks as world No.1 and has represented Europe in seven Ryder Cups. He is currently ranked No.2 in the world.
Sure, his form was patchy going into the Masters, where he finished in a tie for 22nd, but at no time during his Major drought has there been even a hint that his game is in danger of permanent decline.
Don’t forget, McIlroy turns only 35 early next month. The most common age of a major winner in golf is 33. The second most common is 35.
McIlroy won the first of his four Majors when he was 22 and the fourth when he was 25. Overall, 54 Majors have been won by golfers aged between 22 and 25. Overall, 81 Majors have been won by golfers aged between 35 and 38 years.
In other words, McIlroy’s best years could well still be ahead of him. His four years from his 35th birthday might yet be as brilliant as those four years from his 22nd birthday.
There is a chance McIlroy has been distracted by becoming - unwittingly or not - a spokesman and poster player for the PGA Tour in its stand-off with LIV. But apart from being a great ambassador for the sport, he remains a truly phenomenal player - arguably, still the most talented out there, and definitely and, most importantly, the most watchable.
That is why it is not only McIlroy who should feel he needs to win another Major, it should be golf itself.
READ MORE: Max Homa agrees with Rory McIlroy over 'nauseating' scenario created by LIV Golf
READ MORE: Wyndham Clark disputes concerning Masters data after Rory McIlroy's LIV Golf theory
