Rory McIlroy has struggled to compete in tournaments since winning the Masters in April to complete the career Grand Slam and pick up his fifth major championship
10:27 ET, 14 Jun 2025Updated 10:27 ET, 14 Jun 2025
Rory McIlroy is struggling at the U.S. Open(Image: Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy has been told not everyone can be like Tiger Woods, as his post-Masters slump continues at the U.S. Open.
The Grand Slam winner, who was left in tears by Shane Lowry’s foolish mistake at Oakmont, has struggled to compete for championships since winning at Augusta. McIlroy finished 14 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Championship last month and failed to make the cut at the Canadian Open, his last outing.
McIlroy’s woes have continued at the U.S. Open, sitting on six-over-par for the tournament and barely making the cut. The 36-year-old’s frustration was clear on Friday, as he smashed a tee box and hurled a club before finishing his second round.
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Two-time major winner Johnny Miller, who won the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 1973, was asked for his opinion on McIlroy’s form. He referenced Woods’ relentlessness to keep on winning majors at the peak of his career, picking up 15 titles to date.
“He had a little letdown,” Miller said of McIlroy, as quoted by the Belfast Telegraph. “I think he was sort of like, ‘Wow, I did it.’ It’s hard to regroup the way you were before.
“Tiger Woods didn’t have any trouble going after everything he could get, but not everybody can do that.”
Tiger Woods boasts 10 more major titles than McIlroy(Image: Getty Images)
Although he’s won every major out there, McIlroy’s overall tally in golf’s premier events stands at five, the same amount as Brooks Koepka. McIlroy’s legacy as a golfing great is secure thanks to him winning the Grand Slam, but he may need to win a few more majors to be considered in the same breath as the likes of Woods.
McIlroy hasn’t spoken to the press since starting his latest U.S. Open bid. Yet he did speak to reporters ahead of the tournament.
The five-time major winner described Oakmont as a “big brute of a golf course,” having played a practice round before the U.S. Open got underway.
“Last Monday felt impossible, I birdied the last two holes for 81,” said McIlroy on his practice round.
“It felt pretty good, it didn’t feel like I played that bad. It’s much more benign now – they had the pins in dicey positions, and the greens were running at 15 and a half. It was nearly impossible.”
On his poor form since winning the Masters, McIlroy added: “You have to enjoy that. 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. At some point, you have to realize that there’s a little bit more golf left to play this season.
“Weeks like Quail Hollow (at the PGA Championship) or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, ‘OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process.'”
