Rory McIlroy Must Be More Consistent to Successfully Defend PGA Championship

If Rory McIlroy wants a chance at winning back-to-back PGA Championships, he’s going to need to play much better than he did Thursday.

While McIlroy enters the second round of action at Oak Hill Country Club in New York four strokes back of the lead at one under, he was very inconsistent throughout the opening round. If McIlroy fails to perform at a high level on Friday, there’s no guarantee he’s even going to be around to play the weekend.

McIlroy started on the first tee Thursday and got off to a delightful start. He birdied the par-four first hole, made par on the second, and birdied the par-three third and par-five fourth. It appeared as if McIlroy entered the PGA Championship prepared and ready to take on the rest of the field.

But then things started to get a bit rocky for the defending champion. He really struggled on the par-four fifth and made bogey to return to two under for the round. He made par on the next three holes and then got back to three under with a birdie on the par-four ninth.

There’s no question McIlroy was in great shape at the turn, but then the wheels really started to come off. He played the par-four 10th and the par-three 11th poorly, making bogey on each of the opening holes of the back nine. He got a stroke back on the par-four 12th to get back to two under for the round.

Ending the day at two under would’ve put Rory in a great position to make a move toward the top of the leaderboard on Friday. But unfortunately for him, he couldn’t play even par or better on the remaining five holes. He bogeyed the par-four 17th and turned in his scorecard at one under.

The cut line could be at one over if everyone plays around the same as they did Thursday. That won’t bode well for McIlroy, as one poor shot could cost him the entire championship.

Positioning is vital at Oak Hill. And as we’ve seen at the last few majors, Rory has failed to give himself many opportunities to make birdie.

McIlroy was two over at the Masters (T-25th), 14 over at the U.S. Open (T-57th) and 12 over at the Open Championship, where he didn’t make the cut. In those three majors, Rory played best in the second round. He’s going to need to be sharp on Friday to stay within striking distance of the leaders.

Since McIlroy took home the title at Kiawah Island last year, he's seemed to have this huge monkey on his back that he can’t get off. He’s been hard to watch at times this year at major championships. Thursday’s round wasn’t horrible for McIlroy, as he still shot under par, but he needs to be more consistent.

McIlroy can’t be taking many risks at Oak Hill, because odds are that tough shots aren’t going to work out in his favor. He needs to play smart golf. Don’t go for the green if you don’t think you’re going to make it—or if you could wind up in a hazard. There’s nothing wrong with laying up. He just needs to take smart shots to stay in the hunt.

If McIlroy can enter the weekend within two or three strokes of the lead, there’s a chance he can successfully defend his championship. But if he plays like he did Thursday, don’t expect to see him anywhere near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday—if he isn’t cut from the tournament already.

All statistics in this article were obtained via PGATour.com unless otherwise noted.