'Nearly Man' piles up frustration
Big-stage missed chances cloud McIlroy's consistent excellence; Women take the Olympics stage
Rory McIlroy was right there in medal mix until a poor wedge into the water (Ben Jared/PGA Tour/IGF)
We take for granted Rory McIlroy’s level of consistent success, the longevity he’s had at age 35 as one of the game’s top players, any forays outside of the top 10 in the world fleeting.
McIlroy’s had his time at No. 1 — in and out of that spot nine times since 2012 for 122 total weeks as others have challenged him along the way including Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and now Scottie Scheffler.
But McIlroy is always right there, judged more by his lack of major trophies over the past decade than his otherwise consistently high level of aptitude.
McIlroy has won three times this year but you’d think he was in a slump, such is the standard by which he is judged — even by himself.
There is no way that McIlroy is satisfied with a 10th straight year standing on four major titles. And Sunday’s exhilarating charge and then demoralizing fall at the Men’s Olympic Golf Competition simply added to the angst and cumulative scar tissue.
“I feel like I’ve been golf's ‘Nearly Man’ for the last three years,’’ McIlroy said after missing out on a medal by two shots. “I obviously want that tide to turn and go from the ‘Nearly Man’ to back to winning golf tournaments. It’s all well and good saying I’m close and close and close. Once I actually step through the threshold and turn these near misses and close calls into wins, that’s what I need to do.’’
McIlroy’s description seems apt in light of another performance that showed both his brilliance and his baffling inefficiencies.
Seemingly out of contention starting the back nine at Le Golf National on Sunday, McIlroy birdied five consecutive holes. He was one back of the lead score at that time and looking for more. He flushed a drive into the fairway at the otherwise benign 15th hole only to knock his approach shot from 140 yards into the water.
With a wedge.
That is quintessential McIlroy. So good at times. But so puzzling bad, too — especially with a club with which he should dominate in his hands.
Not that McIlroy should have necessarily played safe. But how do you not assure that you get on dry land to give yourself a chance?
“I hit the shot I wanted to hit,” McIlroy said. “The two boys in front of me, Nicolai (Højgaard) and Hideki (Matsuyama), they got their balls up in the air a little bit more and the wind carried it, and I saw they went like 25, 30 feet past.
“I hit the shot I wanted to hit but I didn’t get the ball in the air enough for the wind to carry it the extra three or four yards I needed to. Tried to stay aggressive and land a wedge between the front edge and the hole. Missed my spot by nearly three or four yards and that ended up costing me a medal.”
That would suggest that, in truth, Rory didn’t really hit the shot he wanted. He played aggressively to a pin that was risky and paid the price. It’s a shame for him that he didn’t give himself a 15-footer beyond the hole and take his chances with the closing holes — he parred them all — which might have offered opportunities where others faltered.
Instead he made double bogey. He still shot 66, finishing tied for fifth two shots short of a bronze medal and four back of gold medalist Scottie Scheffler, who shot 62.
The Olympics ending was not nearly as debilitating as McIlroy’s final few holes in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where he held a two-shot lead with five holes to play before three late bogeys late including a missed 4-footer on the final hole cost him a chance at a playoff against eventual winner Bryson DeChambeau.
But this still stung.
There have been some agonizing near misses for McIlroy of late. The 2024 U.S. Open will long be remembered, but so will last year’s at Los Angeles Country Club where he made a late bogey on a par-5 — remember the plugged ball in the grass above the bunker? — to lose by one to Wyndham Clark.
Then there was his performance two years ago at St Andrews, where McIlroy didn’t really lose it but he just didn’t do enough to win. He hit all 18 greens in regulation on the final day, didn’t make a bogey, but made only two birdies two-putting every green. Cam Smith and Cameron Young rushed by him, with Smith shooting a final-round 64 to claim the Claret Jug.
Since last winning majors back-to-back in 2014 at the Open and PGA Championships, McIlroy has won the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup three times, the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai three times and a total of 23 worldwide tournaments, including 17 on the PGA Tour. He’s been in the top 10 of majors on 21 occasions.
That is more than a career for most golfers. For McIlroy, it’s led to frustration, which we witnessed another example of on Sunday.
Mone Inami (silver), Nelly Korda (gold) and Lydia Ko (bronze) in Tokyo Games (Stan Badz/PGA Tour/IGF)
Women’s Olympic Golf Competition tee times/notes
Broadcast schedule
Women’s Olympic Golf Competition will air on Golf Channel and Peacock:
Wednesday-Friday (Rounds 1–3) — 3 a.m. to noon EDT
Saturday (Final Round) — 3 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT (Medal Ceremony in final 30 minutes)
Complete list of tee times for the first and second round of the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition (all times EDT):
3 a.m. Wednesday / 5:55 Thursday: Perrine Delacour (France), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Manon de Roey (Belgium)
3:11 Wednesday / 5:06 Thursday: Pei-yun Chien (Chinese Taipei), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Anne van Dam (Netherlands)
3:22 Wednesday / 5:17 Thursday: Aditi Ashok (India), Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Esther Henseleit (Germany)
3:33 Wednesday / 5:33 Thursday: Shannon Tan (Singapore), Maria Fassi (Mexico), Celine Borge (Norway)
3:44 Wednesday / 5:44 Thursday: Hannah Green (Australia), Charley Hull (Great Britain), Rose Zhang (United States of America)
3:55 Wednesday / 5:55 Thursday: Nelly Korda (United States of America), Jin Young Ko (Korea), Ruoning Yin (China)
4:11 Wednesday / 6:06 Thursday: Hyo Joo Kim (Korea), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Xiyu Janet Lin (China)
4:22 Wednesday / 6:17 Thursday: Patty Tavatanakit (Thailand), Linn Grant (Sweden), Carlota Ciganda (Spain)
4:33 Wednesday / 6:28 Thursday: Alessandra Fanali (Italy), Ashley Lau (Malaysia), Ursula Wikstrom (Finland)
4:44 Wednesday / 6:39 Thursday: Dottie Ardina (Philippines), Noora Komulainen (Finland), Madelene Stavnar (Norway)
4:55 Wednesday / 3 a.m. Thursday: Wei-Ling Hsu (Chinese Taipei), Diksha Dagar (India), Emma Spitz (Austria)
5:06 Wednesday / 3:11 Thursday: Azahara Munoz (Spain), Bianca Pagdanganan (Philippines), Morgane Metraux (Switzerland)
5:17 Wednesday / 3:22 Thursday: Alexandra Forsterling (Germany), Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland), Emily Kristine Pedersen (Denmark)
5:33 Wednesday / 3:33 Thursday: Klara Davidson Spilkova (Czech Republic), Paula Reto (South Africa), Mariajo Uribe (Colombia)
5:44 Wednesday / 3:44 Thursday: Yuka Saso (Japan), Minjee Lee (Australia), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand)
5:55 Wednesday / 3:55 Thursday: Celine Boutier (France), Lilia Vu (United States of America), Amy Yang (Korea)
6:06 Wednesday / 4:11 Thursday: Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Miyu Yamashita (Japan), Maja Stark (Sweden)
6:17 Wednesday / 4:22 Thursday: Leona Maguire (Ireland), Georgia Hall (Great Britain), Ashleigh Buhai (South Africa)
6:28 Wednesday / 4:33 Thursday: Ana Belac (Slovenia), Sara Kouskova (Czech Republic), Alena Sharp (Canada)
6:39 Wednesday / 4:44 Thursday: Ines Laklalech (Morocco), Sarah Schober (Austria), Pia Babnik (Slovenia)
Women’s Olympics notes
The Paris 2024 Summer Olympics mark the third Games golf has been contested since it was reintroduced in 2016. Prior to 2016, women’s golf was contested in the Olympics in 1900.
2016 and 2020 medalists (bold means in the 2024 field):
2020: Gold: Nelly Korda (United States), Silver: Mone Inami (Japan), Bronze: Lydia Ko (New Zealand) — Inami defeated Ko with a two-putt par on the first extra hole to earn the silver medal
2016: Gold: Inbee Park (South Korea), Silver: Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Bronze: Shanshan Feng (China)
33 countries are represented in the 60-player field (35 in 2020, 34 in 2016); Singapore will be represented in the Women’s Olympic Golf Competition for the first time (Shannon Tan)
All medalists of the last two women’s Olympic golf competitions have all qualified within the top 20 of the Olympic Golf Ranking
Highest-ranked player in the Rolex Women’s Ranking to medal: No. 1 — Lydia Ko, 2016 (silver); Nelly Korda, 2020 (gold)
Lowest-ranked player in the Rolex Women’s Ranking to medal: Japan’s No. 28 Mone Inami, 2020 (silver)
Minjee Lee (Australia) will be making her third Olympic appearance following her brother Min Woo Lee’s Olympic debut in the men’s competition last week. The Lees are the only brother-sister combination in the Olympic golf fields.
Nelly Korda’s (USA) mother, Regina, competed for the former Czechoslovakia in tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul; she lost in the first round to Leila Meskhi.
Maríajo Uribe (Colombia) will be retiring from professional golf following her third Olympic start in Paris. She finished 19th in 2016 and 50th in 2020. She is also one of four mothers competing, along with Noora Komulainen (Finland), Azahara Muñoz (Spain) and Ursula Wikström (Finland).
The 60-player field includes …
12 of the top 15 players in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings including all of the top seven in the world: Nelly Korda (USA), Lilia Vu (USA), Jin Young Ko (Republic of Korea), Amy Yang (Republic of Korea), Ruoning Yin (China), Hannah Green (Australia)
15 players will make their third Olympic appearance: Aditi Ashok (India), Carlota Ciganda (Spain), Brooke Henderson (Canada), Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Nanna Koerstz Madsen (Denmark), Minjee Lee (Australia), Xiyu Lin (China), Gaby Lopez (Mexico), Leona Maguire (Ireland), Stephanie Meadow (Ireland), Azahara Muñoz (Spain), Alena Sharp (Canada), Klara Davidson Spilkova (Czech Republic), Maríajo Uribe (Colombia) and Albane Valenzuela (Switzerland)
24 players will be making their Olympic debuts, including three within the Rolex Rankings top 10: No. 2 Lilia Vu (USA), No. 5 Ruoning Yin (China) and No. 9 Rose Zhang (USA)
Two players who competed in the 2022 World Amateur Team Championships (Espirito Santo Trophy) at Le Golf National: Alexandra Forsterling, T16 (Germany) and Rose Zhang, T1 (USA)
Six players who are or have reached World No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings: Jin Young Ko (Korea), Lydia Ko (New Zealand), Nelly Korda (USA), Atthaya Thitikul (Thailand), Lilia Vu (USA), Ruoning Yin (China)
11 past Solheim Cup participants representing Europe: Celine Boutier, France (2019, 2021, 2023), Carlota Ciganda, Spain (2012, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023), Linn Grant, Sweden (2023) Charley Hull, Great Britain (2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023), Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Denmark (2021), Leona Maguire, Ireland (2021, 2023), Azahara Muñoz, Spain (2011, 2013, 2015, 2019), Emily K. Pedersen, Denmark (2017, 2021, 2023), Maja Stark, Sweden (2023) and Anne Van Dam, Netherlands (2019); all three from Team USA are past Solheim participants: Nelly Korda (2019, 2021, 2023), Lilia Vu (2023) and Rose Zhang (2023)
15 LPGA Tour major championship winners with 22 major titles earned between the players, including three of the four LPGA Tour 2024 major champions: Nelly Korda (USA, Chevron Championship), Yuka Saso (Japan, U.S. Women’s Open) and Amy Yang (Korea, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship)
Ines Laklalech (Morocco) was selected as a flag bearer for her country in the Opening Ceremonies
Oldest competitor in the field: Ursula Wikström, 44
Youngest competitor in the field: Shannon Tan, 20
Top player notes
Defending gold medalist from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Nelly Korda, arrives in Paris as the No. 1 player in the Rolex Rankings. Korda has amassed six wins on the LPGA Tour in 2024 (14 career titles), including five in consecutive events played, which tied the LPGA Tour record. Korda earned her second major championship in April at the Chevron Championship. She is making her first professional golf appearance since a T26 result at the Amundi Evian Championship. Korda is one of three women representatives in the women’s competition, along with Rolex Rankings No. 2 Lilia Vu and No. 9 Rose Zhang. Vu, Zhang and Korda are among the nine 2024 LPGA Tour winners in the women’s competition.
The 2016 silver medalist and 2020 bronze medalist Lydia Ko is the only other past medalist in the field this week. In Rio, Ko shot a 2-under 69 in the final round to earn a medal for New Zealand to finish at 11-under par, five shots back of gold medalist Inbee Park (-16). In 2020, Ko and eventual silver medalist Mone Inami shot 65s to tie at 16-under overall. Ko won her 20th LPGA Tour victory this past January since her first in 2012 as an amateur. She is now one point away from the necessary 27 needed towards LPGA Hall of Fame induction, and has the ability to earn one Hall of Fame point with a gold medal.
Celine Boutier is one of two players to represent France in the women’s Olympic golf competition, along with Perrine Delacour. Boutier had the best season of her career in 2023 where she earned four wins, including a major championship, the Amundi Evian Championship, in her home country. The six-time LPGA Tour winner and three-time European Solheim Cup participant claims Le Golf National as her home course.
Following the women’s week, Mariajo Uribe, a 2010 LPGA Tour rookie and making her third appearance in the Olympics, will be retiring from professional golf. Uribe solidified her place in the Olympic Golf Ranking after her first Ladies European Tour victory at the Women’s NSW Open this past March as a sponsor exemption. In November, the 34-year-old won silver for Colombia at the Pan American Games, her third Pan Am Games medal of her career. Uribe has been an LPGA Tour Member since 2010 and earned a victory at the unofficial HSBC Brazil Cup in 2011. One of four moms in the women’s Olympic field, Uribe gave birth to son Lucca in January 2021
Aditi Ashok is coming off a tie for 22nd at the LPGA Tour’s Portland Classic that ended this past Sunday as she enters her third Olympic start. Ashok, who had her father on the bag in 2016 and her mother in 2020, was in medal contention in Tokyo before carding a 3-under 68 in the final round to finish 15-under, just one shot off the medal places. She was 45th on the Olympic Golf Ranking back in 2020 and No. 200 in the Rolex Rankings heading into the competition. Ashok’s X account grew 204 percent during the Olympics, with her Instagram following grew by 873 percent. The native of India is in the middle of playing eight-straight weeks dating back to The Amundi Evian Championship; the Olympics is her fifth-consecutive week playing.
Gold medalist benefits
Exemptions into the 2024 AIG Women’s Open, 2025 Chevron Championship, 2025 U.S. Women’s Open, 2025 KPMG Women's PGA Championship and 2025 Amundi Evian Championship
One point towards the LPGA Hall of Fame
Rolex Women’s World Golf Ranking points