Memorial Tournament 2013: Rory McIlroy's Season Not Doomed After Poor 1st Round

Those eager to hit the panic button on Rory McIlroy's 2013 season or golf career should pump the brakes. Even though the 24-year-old Northern Irish phenom shot an abysmal six-over 78 on Thursday in Round 1 of the Memorial Tournament, it isn't time to write McIlroy off just yet.

It was an unprecedentedly bad start on the PGA Tour for McIlroy at Muirfield Village Golf Club, as Steve Elling pointed out:

Renowned golf instructor Butch Harmon was befuddled while bearing witness to McIlroy's poor play:

Harmon brings up a good point, because McIlroy has one of the best natural, free-flowing swings in the game when he's at peace on the course. That seems to have dissipated over the past two weeks, but we've been here before.

Considering the runaway fashion in which McIlroy won his two major championships over the past two years, it's never wise to doubt the uncommonly resilient world No. 2.

McIlroy is simply in a bit of a funk right now, and it has eerie similarities to the rough stretch he endured last year.

The BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour was the site of a missed cut for the second year in a row last week at Wentworth. It also appears that McIlroy won't make the weekend in Dublin, Ohio—precisely what occurred in 2012.

Some courses simply don't fit a golfer's eye, and that, along with lackluster current form, appears to be the case with McIlroy at Jack Nicklaus' tournament, as highlighted by Shane Bacon of Yahoo! Sports.

If memory serves correctly, the aforementioned slump in the middle of last season didn't exactly devastate McIlroy for the remainder of his campaign. He went on to win both major tour money lists and romp to a record-setting eight-stroke victory at the PGA Championship.

In short, there is still plenty of time for McIlroy to bounce back as he's been known to do. Comparisons to Tiger Woods aren't likely to cease, even though McIlroy has not displayed the trademark consistency for which Woods has become legendary.

The talent to match blows with Woods is still there, and it's inevitable that the two Nike teammates will go head-to-head at some point in the coming years.

Now that Woods has regained the form reminiscent of his typically dominant self in winning four of seven tour starts thus far, the pressure on McIlroy is as intense as ever. It's an adjustment that he has yet to adequately make.

Earlier in the year, after the controversial withdrawal from the Honda Classic—where McIlroy was defending champion and initially ascended to the top of the world rankings—McIlroy himself admitted the pressure of being the game's best got to him.

Per The Daily Mail's Derek Lawrenson: "It was like it released a valve and all that pressure I have been putting on myself just went away. It’s time to remember it’s not life and death but a game and I had sort of forgotten that."

Bear in mind that before this recent rough patch, McIlroy notched three top 10s in his previous four PGA Tour starts. The biggest reason behind his latest trials and tribulations is his putter.

McIlroy is reputedly streaky with the flatstick, but in his dominant back half of 2012, it appeared he couldn't miss and had seemingly upped the ante in that aspect of his game.

On Thursday, it took McIlroy more than two putts per hole to get around Muirfield Village, including an ugly four-putt at the par-three 12th for a double bogey. Whether it's been the Nike Method or his old Scotty Cameron, the short stick hasn't been kind to McIlroy at all.

Don't count out McIlroy just yet, though. His ball-striking has been peerless overall, as he ranks fourth on tour in hitting 71.33 percent of greens in regulation.

As long as he can recuperate from his putting woes—frankly, he's flashed the talent and handling of adversity to feasibly do just that—there are three majors and plenty of other tournaments remaining in 2013 for McIlroy to make splashes reminiscent of his prowess from a year ago.

Note: All statistics and information, unless otherwise indicated, are courtesy of PGATour.com.