Rory McIlroy labels Travelers Championship venue ‘obsolete’ after low-scoring week
Rory McIlroy labelled the PGA Tour course in Connecticut as “obsolete” and claimed that the low scoring at the Travelers Championship has only strengthened the argument of why the governing bodies are right in their plan to put a brake on the absurd distances the pros are launching the ball.
McIlroy finished in a tie for seventh on 18 under after a final-round 64 at TPC River Highlands and although he was satisfied with his form before he heads over to England for next month’s Open, there was still a note of dissatisfaction because of the latest PGA Tour birdie-fest that featured Keegan Bradley winning on 23 under par.
“I don’t particularly like when a tournament is like this,” McIlroy said, after a round featuring seven birdies and a bogey.
“Unfortunately technology has passed this course by, right? It sort of has made it obsolete, especially as soft as it has been with a little bit of rain that we had. So, again, like the conversations going back to, you know, limiting the golf ball and stuff like that, when we come to courses like this they don’t present the challenge that they used to.”
McIlroy is one of the few big names who has supported the plans of the R&A and US Golf Association to put restrictions on the ball. The regulations are due to be introduced at the start of 2025 and would see the average driving distances for big hitters such as McIlroy be reduced by up to 15 yards.
Rory McIlroy hit this drive 382 yards. 😳pic.twitter.com/DMxMaseCJX
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) June 15, 2023
McIlroy is not a fan of the “tricking up” of courses to combat the big hitters. “You can grow the rough up and hope you get some firm conditions so it gets tricky,” he said. “I think the blueprint for a really good golf course isn’t growing the rough up and making the fairways tight. That bunches everyone together. When you get soft conditions like this and you’ve got the best players, this is what’s going to happen.”
How Augusta lengthened the par-five 13th to combat big hitters
McIlroy accepts that his opinion is not the prevalent view in the locker room. “I know that’s a really unpopular opinion amongst my peers, but I think it’s going to help identify who the best players are a bit easier,” he said when the proposals were announced this year.
“Especially in this era of parity. Some have said, ‘Golf has been dumbed down at the elite level’, and I completely agree. I think you’re going to see people with more well-rounded games succeed easier than what the game has become, which is a bit ‘bomb and gouge’ over these last few years.”
The cheque for more than £500,000 confirmed that McIlroy had leapfrogged Dustin Johnson into third on all-time PGA Tour earnings, having banked more than $75 million (£58.9 million). Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be difficult to catch as Nos 1 and 2 respectively, but McIlroy is only 34 and with prize funds exploding due to the influx of Saudi Arabian money, he has the opportunity to pass both.
However, McIlroy’s focus is purely fixed on the next major. “I have two weeks off and then to Scotland and I’ll be ready for the Open,” he said.
Leona Maguire misses out
At the Women’s PGA, the second female major of the season, McIlroy’s compatriot Leona Maguire faltered in her attempt to make history as the first Irish female to win a major after having the overnight advantage, when shooting a three-over 74 at Baltusrol, New Jersey.
The 28-year-old held a one-shot lead going into the final round but tumbled through the field to finish in 11th on four under. As it turned out, Stephanie Meadow claimed top Irish honours, with a 70 that gave her third place, two behind winner Ruoning Yin, and improved the Ulsterwoman’s hopes of making the Europe Solheim Cup team for the match against the United States in Spain in September.
Yin, 20, put on a ball-striking clinic, hitting every green in regulation for a four-under closing round of 67 to become just the second Chinese major winner, following Shanshan Feng’s victory at the Women’s PGA in 2012.
