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AND SO WE head to Charlotte for the year’s second major, which has crept suddenly upon us as we were all still basking in that flaxen, post-McIlroy-at-the-Masters haze.
Let’s start with a one-time resident of this state, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who probed the decadent heart of Jazz Age-wealth and status in The Beautiful and Damned and flipped moral convention on its head as he did so.
“The victor”, wrote Fitzgerald, “belongs to the spoils.”
This marks the first week in which Fitzgerald’s aphorism no longer applies to Rory McIlroy.
Winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam means he is no longer yoked to his ultimate ambitions and is thus freed and, in his own words, “playing with house money.”
Defending champion Xander Schauffele has described this as a scary prospect. Winning the Masters has allowed McIlroy finally speak freely of its weight of pressure, and finally admit in words what his body language had been screaming for years.
So this week we will discover What’s Next. Having completed the career Grand Slam, he says he won’t again be setting another lofty, propulsive target for his career.
“I think everyone saw how hard having a north star is and being able to get over the line”, McIlroy told The 42 on Wednesday. “I feel like I sort of burdened myself with the career Grand Slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this.”
He later said he still has targets, though won’t ever be focusing on them to the point of becoming possessed by them, as he was by his epic longing for the Masters.
He thus decided not to indulge talk of The Rory Slam, and a tilt at winning all four majors in a single calendar year. Nobody has done it before, even if Tiger Woods held all four titles at one time across 2000 and 2001.
It’s an absurd ambition, really, to think he could actually go and do it. Part of the talk is stirred purely by the fact he won the year’s first major, of course, but it’s been given a little extra airtime by the fact of this week’s venue.
McIlroy has described Quail Hollow as one of his favourite places in the world, and little wonder: he has won four times here, setting a couple of course records along the way. He won his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow and is its most recent Tour winner too; he won here near the peak of his powers in 2015 and at his greatest professional low in 2021; and he’s given the course two scoring records as the course has given him three of the five-best ball-striking weeks of his career, stats-wise.
The sheer length of the course naturally yields to his remarkable driving distance, and its littered with doglegs that suit his trademark right-to-left draw. There’s also the intangible stuff of targets and dimensions that go into it simply suiting his eye.
There is going to be an added value premium on driving this week by dint of the weather: the course has been soaked by heavy rain all week and so will play longer than it did when it last hosted this championship in August 2017.
The more specialist golf media in America have been united in complaint at the choice of Quail Hollow as a venue this week, moaning that it’s over-exposed as a regular Tour stop and that its premium on driving makes it dreary and one-dimensional.
The PGA Championship has often struggled to carve out a distinct identity among the four majors, however, and so its organisers have recently decided to lean into B-movie drama, eschewing art and originality for sheer, adrenal thrill.
The course follows a three-act structure: open steady through a tricky first six holes, make your scoring from holes seven to 15, and then cling on for dear life during the fiendish closing three holes, which are suitably nicknamed the Green Mile, with water snaking sinisterly around them.
Organisers have assembled the best field they could find – moral or political objections to the LIV Tour be damned – and will invite them to go low. Xander Schauffele and Shane Lowry tied the lowest major rounds in history with a pair of 62s at Valhalla last year, while Schauffele went on to win with a record low score of 21-under.
The tournament is blessed by the fact most of the world’s top players arrive in form. Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau both won on their most recent starts, while 2017 champ Justin Thomas finally returned to the winners’ circle at the RBC Heritage a month ago.
Scheffler is not blessed with the driving length of McIlroy or DeChambeau but the quality of his iron play mitigates that disadvantage, while DeChambeau can outdrive even McIlroy. DeChambeau’s sloppy iron play cost him a true title at the Masters last month, but says that part of his game has since improved. If that proves to be the case this week, then we could be looking at a third Rory/Bryson shootout in less than a year. . . at which point the golf sickos’ scepticism of this week’s venue will be quickly forgotten.
Defending champion Schuaffele, meanwhile, is slowly inching back into form following a rib injury, and he has a formidable record around this course: of this week’s field, only McIlroy has a better scoring average at Quail Hollow since 2003.
The field is rich with storylines.
Can Jordan Spieth take inspiration from Rory McIlroy and complete the career Grand Slam? Can Jon Rahm prove his competitive edge has not been hopelessly blunted by his mega-lucrative move to LIV? And whither Brooks Koepka?
There are five Irish golfers in the field this week, with Shane Lowry arriving in a curious state of mind. His consistency has been validated by the fact he has now broken into the world’s top 10, but he is still not minting his performances. Without a solo win since Wentworth in 2022, Lowry came close to breaking his duck at the Truist Championship on Sunday before scuppering himself with two bogeys in the final three holes.
He spoke yesterday of his determination to keep on knocking at the door, but Quail Hollow is a poor fit for his game, given he lacks relative length off the tee.
“I wish we were at a venue that suits my game a little bit better, but I do feel like if I play my best golf, I can contend”, Lowry told the Irish media yesterday.
The course may be a better fit for Tom McKibbin, who bagged a special invite despite defecting to LIV and rendering himself unable to qualify. A Holywood protege of McIlroy’s, the stats show McKibbin has the kind of driving distance that will suit Quail Hollow.
Padraig Harrington is here too, with a lifetime exemption as a past champion, turning up here rather than playing a curiously-timed major championship on the seniors’ tour. Sports psychologist Bob Rotella has been on site this week and walked nine holes with Harrington, Lowry, and McIlroy on Tuesday: Harrington says he’s here to sharpen his own mental game and stand him in better stead for a two-month stretch of golf on the seniors tour that culminates with the Open in Portrush.
Also competing is Seamus Power, who is currently lingering a little too lowly of the PGA Tour. Currently ranked 99th, Power needs to finish among the top 100 to guarantee his Tour card for next year. Harrington told us he fears this will be a burden for Power this week, but the man himself says it’s far from his mind. Instead he is embracing a course with which he is familiar, having spent a decade living in Charlotte.
Nobody, however, is as familiar with Quail Hollow as Rory McIlroy, and this is the kind of familiarity that breeds content.
McIlroy is primed to win once again. DeChambeau and Scheffler are the best-placed to disturb his serene mood.
Tips
Written by Gavin Cooney and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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Of course the OPW has promised to address the specifics of the report. The problem is that it’s like a whack-a-mole, with the culture of corruption and cronyism being left untouched. The next time there will be new specifics, new lessons to learn and move on from. But the culture will never be addressed.
@Louis Jacob: The article is a general observation about the cost of general works. NOTHING solid is revealed about any complications with this project perhaps because they might successfully explain probable accompanying necessary works that would explain the cost.
@Louis Jacob: The National Children’s Hospital will have an overspend of at least 2 billion euro and is well over its planned opening by at least 2 years and apparently they are having major problems with recruitment due to the Housing Crisis. That bike shed was just the icing on the cake for this joke of a government and their predecessors.
@thomas molloy: You really are just a little government cheerleader aren’t you!
@Frank Cauldhame: in fairness now ‘lessons learned’ … again.
Anyone being held accountable?
@Tom O’Hanlon: nope
@Tom O’Hanlon: I think the tax payer yet again Tom!
@Tom O’Hanlon: Larry does the jokes round here.
@Tom O’Hanlon: another report that added to the cost. Can they not find the contract and who signed it? Simple. Ask them the reasoning behind the cost.
@Tom O’Hanlon: No, but lessons will be learnt!
How much did the FFG deloitte report cost?
@Kevin O Brien:
…. To point out the obvious! Who’d have thought value for money hadn’t been considered for a 300k bike shed.
It’s only taxpayers money….so nobody in power cares
How much did the audit cost?
@stephen deegan: It’s going to take another costly audit to find out.
FFG have a love affair with toothless regulators, and are allergic to accountability and responsibility.
@Daniel Gilroy: FFG is a legalised corruption cartel that’s specialised in embezzlement of our public funds and cover-up of the criminal conduct of their politicians, family and collaborators!
Nobody will ever be charged with corruption involving FFG acolytes or their buddies!
@H Woo: Top20 countries in the league table for “Lessons-Will-be-learnt”, corrupt NDAs, “say-nothing per my solicitor’s advice”, “nothing-to-see-here”
Imagine if a value for money assessment was conducted on our elected representatives? Now, there’s an idea worth pursuing! The cost of doing so, of course, would go horrendously over budget…
@William Tallon: they are doing that somewhere else and the world is in uproar over it.
So who’s getting fired !!!
@Bren: Like, no one ever, just a few promotions for bad governance
@Bren: The pizza, they bought a wood fired pizza oven, it’s rumoured to cost €245k which represents great value, the same model is €99 in Lidl but the OPW have to build a brick plinth to mount it on.
They couldn’t be bothered.
Nobody gave a flying fluck at the time because nobody gives a flying fluck now…
C U Next Tuesdays.
I’d be more worried if there was a proper assessment done. So would whoever mate it was that got the gig to build it. Doesn’t happen by accident
We’ll it’s not their money to play around with it’s only the taxpayers who pay for these things so why should they care
Look on the bright side. Lessons will be learned and, in these cases no teachers will be offended and have to consider strike action!
@Padraig O’Brien: :-)
Until the next big money waster project just wait till the children’s hospital is ready
Is there anything to be said for demanding a report on the report saying that theres no value for money for the €336,000 euro bike shed?
@oisin o’connell: that would be an ecumenical matter.
The man who got the contract is the same fella who was scrutinised for help Pascal Donohoe do his election posters! Pascal then went to his wedding! No wonder there was no “fundamental good practices” he’s mates with Pascal, a back hander job!
Follow the money and you get the actual answers! If only this rag would do the same!
Minister Eamon Ryan should be sacked. O sorry he’s already sacked by the public.
There was a value for money assessment done. But the reasoning was so embarrassing, it was better to lie and say there was none.
Wonder how much Deloitte charges for an audit… More money wasted and zero consequences.
IM SHOCKED HERE I TELLS YA SHOCKED!!!!
C’mon now…….. when did an Irish government EVER care about ‘ value for money’? To them , it’s not ‘real’ money….. merely taxpayer money…… plenty more where that came from
@Mary Linton: it was the OPW, not the Government
@Johnny Wilson: The OPW are not The Government. But they are a government agency and are therefore government.
@Johnny Wilson: mmmm….let’s see…..who is the OPW under the remit of??? You do know the OPW isn’t just some ‘stand alone’ organisation?
Sure a child could tell you it wasn’t value for money! Maybe the child who bought all the lollipops for his friends should have been consulted, he only really upset one person – his mum! These guys have peeved many people.
Wishing an eternity of burning in hell to Nethanyahu the pond life amoeba that he is. ###k Israel the ‘short memory’ warmongers that they are..
The June 2021 decision to proceed was made without any discussion on costs. Is the any chance we might ever get to find out who made that decision…. it is out money after all.
@Jp Cleary: there and our
@Jp Cleary: Don’t make me laugh! I’ve never heard of such a thing. A single person bearing responsibility for something! Ahh here now, we can’t be having that. Sure, someone might get blamed!
@Nick Caffrey: It’s really quite depressing Nick and I’ve been listening to this shite for many many years. I see our latest Minister for health is at it already…. having to wait for yet another final report before she comment’s. But when she does will anything change. As public servants paid by taxpayers money why is nobody ever called to explain for and stand over their actions.
In oher words, senior management take no notice of their juniors. No-one has ultimate responsibility and there is no clear chain of reporting.
OPW is run just like the country; ineptly.
So now they’ve also paid Deloitte to tell them to do what they should have been doing in the first place? It reminds me of when Comreg spent 100k on an audit to be told they needed to re-use unused phone numbers if they were running out of them. A primary school kid could have told them that. This country makes me f*king fume sometimes
@Mark Eightfourone: everything is whitewashed. No accountability.
Cronyism alive and well. Nobody is surprised.
A phone phone call or stroll to the offices involved would have given you the sane findings..so how much was the audit?
Where is a breakdown of costs, i.e.,labour,material who got what ? And why?
If a lay person built a replica, how much would the same firm charge? Any investigation at all to show accountability?
Hold on here a minute, somebody said ‘go ahead’, that person has been found to OK a project that’s been found to not be not value for money. The very least internal disciplinary procedures should be under way.
I’d love to know how much the audit cost the taxpayer. Probably the cost of a normal bike shelter I’d say . But sure lessons will be learned
That this “investigation” is considered an acceptable response to a disgraceful dereliction of duty on every state agency including the Dail is exactly why Trump is popular. People have zero confidence in the people in guaranteed jobs who are overpaid and incompetent. Again, upto and including elected representatives.
The most telling paragraph in their assessment was about the paperwork and the dates of signatures versus the work done tells you all you need to know.
Pretty normal stuff from the OPW and government in general they don’t give a damn about your tax monies.
I could have provided the same conclusion for a lot less
Was there a value for money assessment conduct for this review? If so is it really value for money on its findings? Asking for a friend
OPW , another dinasore quango that needs to be abolished!
No way
It seemed such a vague thing whether it was value for money or not.I’m relieved an investigation could clarify it a bit
Hopefully the investigation only cost a few tens of thousands
@Johnny King: then we could learn lessons from the costs of that also with once again no accountability
@H Woo: If you believe that, you’ll believe anything. Labours Brenden Howlin lobbying law 2014 I think, basically legalised corruption in Ireland. No register, no records, lobbyists not declaring vested interests. Corruption is alive and well in the Dail.
Bunch of moaners, the bikeshed has had an amazing impact on vehicle emissions to and fro to the dail itself. It was and still is a groundbreaking achievement from the likes of the green party making dublin city a safer environment whereby cleaner air and less airborne bacteria is flowing upon society. If anything roderic and co should be proud of the wonders they have managed with large sums of taxpayers funds it’s a testament to them.
And not one of the muppets lost their job or was held to account. Did anyone get a backhander? Fcukery like this tarnishes the honest work most civil servants perform.
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