Dell Technologies Championship: Power Ranking the top ten at TPC Boston
Rory McIlroy made the decision to play in the Northern Trust despite some lingering injury issues that would have otherwise kept him out of action for a while. However, it’s not like Rory’s out there grinding for a paycheck, or concerned about keeping his Tour card. As much as most of these guys will say it, McIlroy’s actions back it up – he’s out there looking to win again.
It makes sense, of course. If McIlroy thought he was too hurt, or his game too far away from winning, he’d have taken the week off, at least, to rest up, and perhaps come back rested, if not entirely healthy.
That’s not to say his game is perfect, of course. McIlroy admitted as much after the tournament, even though his tie for 34th place should have stood alone.
"“My game isn’t where it needs to be,” McIlroy said. “But it’s okay, conditions were tricky out there. This afternoon the course played quite firm and fairways were bouncing out a lot[…]Again, my battling qualities, that’s all I really have right now. I’m sort of a little inconsistent with my swing and sort of with everything else. “It’s just a matter of trying to go out there and put the best possible rounds together and see where that leaves me.”"
If McIlroy’s going to get his game right, there aren’t many better places for him to do it than this week at TPC Boston. Last year, he joined Vijay Singh as the only two-time winners of what was then known as the Deutsche Bank Championship, and he’s finished inside the top five three times in his six career starts there.
McIlroy has shown flashes of his golf genius at times over the past couple of months. He’ll need to do that again – and soon – if he wants to avoid missing out on the Tour Championship for just the second time in his incredible career.