British Open: Rory McIlroy’s silence speaks volumes

We’ve been here before. Thirty-three times, in fact. Rory McIlroy, the greatest player of his generation, gearing up for yet another major to add to his four-and-holding. Thirty-three times he’s teed it up in a major since winning the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla, and 33 times, he’s walked off the course without a trophy.

Seven times he’s left before the weekend, and every time he’s been listed among the “Notables missing the cut” posts that show up on Saturday mornings. But 19 times, he’s played his way into the top 10, an average of more than twice a year. Sometimes he’s played well when the pressure is off and stormed up the leaderboard on Sunday with no real hope of winning — the Rory Backdoor Top 10 is a Golf Twitter favorite — and sometimes, like last year at this tournament, he’s played well enough to win only to see someone else tear out his heart.

At this point, it’s got to feel like six-putting inside five feet from the pin. But we can’t really know, because all of a sudden, McIlroy has decided to stop speaking before majors.

He begged off his U.S. Open slot last month, and on Monday word came down that he wouldn’t be speaking during his scheduled 9 a.m. British Summer Time slot Tuesday. It’s a blow to journalists looking to flesh out their pre-tournament columns, and fans looking for a bit of colorful insight, but will it lead to another major? To be determined.

Whether in a scrum or at a podium, McIlroy is unfailingly affable, polite and charming. He understands the role of the media in building not just the game, but his own brand. Plenty of players are blessed with curious minds that venture far outside the ropes, but McIlroy is one of the few — maybe the only — to share his thoughts on so many subjects, so broadly and openly.

In the golf ecosphere, you’re as likely to hear him opine on the final season of “Succession” as the need to roll back golf ball distances. He’s thoughtful and insightful on the history of the game; the strategy involved in attacking courses all over the world; the ways golf, politics and economics intersect.

It’s no wonder McIlroy is such a prized interview subject; given a choice, say, between a dissertation on the role of Tiger Woods in shaping the modern game or three empty platitudes on this week’s tournament, which way would you turn?

But all that openness takes a toll, as anyone who’s ever over-shared on social media can attest. McIlroy found himself anointed the spokesman for the PGA Tour, and spokesmen are required to speak. Often and in depth. And while it’s a stretch to say that McIlroy’s openness has cost him major wins, it’s not unreasonable to assume that being every journalist’s quote-machine pal can have an impact on one’s mental preparedness.

Combine that simple psychological reality with the fact that the PGA Tour treated McIlroy like a spring break hotel room, rewarding his loyalty by giving him mere hours’ notice before the announcement of the Tour-Saudi Public Investment Fund agreement last month, and you can see why McIlroy might prefer the company of his Netflix queue. The three questions he did answer in a brief post-practice-round session were so bland as to be instantly forgettable.

“My game feels like it's in good shape,” McIlroy said, “but I think seeing the way I played last week and being able to control my ball in pretty difficult conditions, and I feel good about that coming into this week.” Sure, it’s a serviceable enough quote, but from McIlroy, it’s like watching a Michelin-star chef heat a can of tomato soup.

McIlroy finished in solo second place at last month’s U.S. Open, continuing an incredible run of six top-10 finishes in his last seven events. So perhaps there’s something to this Cone of Silence routine. He’ll open his tournament at 9:59 a.m. EST alongside Jon Rahm and Justin Rose. And if trends hold, he’ll be speaking Sunday evening, too. But whether he’s smiling or once again coping with yet another loss … well, that’s the big question, isn’t it?