More glory for Rory?

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This article was published 26/06/2011 (5478 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Now that Rory McIlroy has officially launched a promising career by winning his first major championship, don’t think for a second that the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland needs to play the PGA Tour full time to continue to prove himself.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Open champion was on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, saying he will remain on the European Tour for at least several more years.

“I’m never going to leave the European Tour,” McIlroy said. “I don’t think I will join (the PGA Tour) in the next few years anyway.”

Why would he want to? If you haven’t noticed, the European Tour is now stronger than the PGA Tour.

Week after week, more players in the top 25 of the Official World Golf Rankings play in tournaments scattered across Europe and elsewhere than on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. Hence, tournament fields overseas are stronger and players face a stiffer challenge on a more regular basis.

McIlroy passed up an opportunity to become a full-time member of the PGA Tour last fall because he didn’t like the idea of having to move to the United States or how PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem’s baby, the FedExCup, forces players to play in events they otherwise might not want to.

The thorniest issue for Europeans is being required to play 15 events for full membership on the PGA Tour in addition to their participation in the FedExCup playoffs. Europeans must play 13 events for full-time status on their own tour, and many find it too difficult to commit to both once travel is factored in.

Other Europeans taking a similar stance to McIlroy include England’s Lee Westwood, who hasn’t played full time on the PGA Tour since 2005, and Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who earned a five-year exemption to play the PGA Tour after winning last year’s PGA Championship.

Europeans now hold the top four spots in the world rankings, with Luke Donald and Westwood, both from England, No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, followed by Kaymer and McIlroy. Those four are among 16 non-Americans in the top 25, while the highest-ranked American players are Steve Stricker (No. 5), Phil Mickelson (No. 6) and Matt Kuchar (No. 7). They are the only three Americans in the top 10, with former No. 1 Tiger Woods slipping all the way down to No. 17.

McIlroy was eligible to take up PGA Tour membership after winning last year’s Quail Hollow Championship, his only other PGA Tour win and his second overall victory after capturing the European Tour’s 2009 Dubai Desert Classic. He is eligible to play 11 PGA Tour-sanctioned events each year, including The Players Championship, which he skipped for the second straight year after missing the cut in 2009, acknowledging TPC Sawgrass was not to his liking.

How many more times McIlroy plays on the PGA Tour this season is anybody’s guess, but we will have to wait until next month’s British Open at Royal St. Georges to see if he can put a “major” exclamation point on his record-setting win at the U.S. Open and put his final-round collapse at the Masters further behind him.

Speaking of records, McIlroy set or tied seven U.S. Open marks on Congressional’s Blue Course, which played easier than expected. Among the records he set were lowest 36-hole score (131), lowest 54-hole score (199), most strokes under par through 54 holes (14-under), lowest 72-hole total (268), and most strokes under par for 72 holes (16-under).

Patrick asked McIlroy to compare his performance to Woods’s in the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

“I don’t think it’s as impressive,” McIlroy replied. “Tiger was the only person under par that week. The golf course was scoreable. What Tiger did at Pebble to win by 15 shots, it was ridiculous.”

With McIlroy winning the U.S. Open by eight shots, you can’t help think that he, too, won in ridiculous fashion.

— Postmedia News