We make no apologies for bigging up Rory’s chances of completing the career Grand Slam. We do it most years, only this time we’ve got stats and facts to back up our optimism. After all, it was only the brilliance of others – rather than his own shortcomings – which stopped him from winning when it mattered most last season.
He was still the only player to finish inside the top 10 in all four Majors in 2022. Of course, that counts for very little without a win to show for it, but his consistency did help him become only the second man, after Henrik Stenson, to win the Race to Dubai and FedEx Cup in the same calendar year after notching three wins, two seconds and 10 other top 10s.
It would surely have gone down as one of the greatest seasons of all time had he tasted success at The Open or any of the other big four. As it is, there is an asterisk against his name, the kind which has followed him around for longer than we expected.
He was 25 when he won his fourth Major. He’s 33 now and hasn’t added to his tally since. Usually, we’d be lamenting his putting or wedge play, but last year felt different because his all-round game was largely flawless. For the first time ever, he finished inside the top 20 in strokes gained: putting on the PGA Tour, and ranked 22nd for approach shots from 50-125 yards, compared to ranking 164th the season before.
His new-found consistency has taken him back to World No.1 and he says the best is yet to come. It’s a scary proposition for his rivals, who didn’t even come within half a stroke of Rory’s scoring average on either the DP World Tour or the PGA Tour in 2022.
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Esta historia es de la edición March 2023 de Golf Asia.
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