PLAYERS: After two poor rounds, Rory McIlroy is ready to go home

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion of The Players Championship – albeit two years ago, the last time the trophy was raised at TPC Sawgrass – is ready to go home.

After two rounds.

Rory McIlroy followed his opening 79 with a 3-over 75 in Friday’s second round on the Stadium Course, leaving him at 10 over for 36 holes. Of the 154 players in the field, just 10 carded worse scores in the first two rounds.

Rory McIlroy could blame a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 18th hole in the first round. On Friday, his primary explanation centered on lethargy.

Playing four consecutive weeks has left the 31-year-old worn out. The four-hour drive down I-95 to his South Florida home has never seemed so vital.

"“It’s funny – I used to think four weeks in a row was nothing,” McIlroy, ranked 11th in the world, said after Friday’s round. “And then I feel like I’m getting old because by the fourth week, I’m like a little achy. A couple of things are hurting, so I’m looking forward to getting home.“That’s not the reason I didn’t play very well this week, but yeah, it felt like a long four weeks.”"

A year ago, McIlroy had arrived at The Players with plenty of momentum, having posted six consecutive top-5 finishes, including a win. But the tournament was canceled after the first round due to the Coronavirus, and McIlroy has not reached the winner’s circle since then.

In his 20 post-COVID starts, McIlroy’s best result was a T-3 at Abu Dhabi. He had four top-10s in his last seven starts, but also suffered a missed cut at Genesis – his first MC since the 2019 Open Championship. Now he’s added another MC.

On Friday, he admitted frustration with his swing as he tries to chase distance — specifically the distance being generated by U.S. Open champ Bryson DeChambeau.

"“Where it all stems from, probably like October last year, doing a little bit of speed training, started getting sucked into that stuff,” said McIlroy, who has played seven of the last eight weeks. “Swing got flat, long, and too rotational.“Obviously I added some speed and am hitting the ball longer. But what that did to my swing as a whole probably wasn’t a good thing, so I’m sort of fighting to get back out of that. That’s what I’m frustrated with.”"

As for the Bryson effect? “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t anything to do with what Bryson did at the U.S. Open,” McIlroy said. “I think a lot of people saw that and were like, whoa, if this is the way they’re going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps.”

He doesn’t think his swing issues will be an overnight fix. He thought his swing felt good last fall, but he’s taken some steps back now.

"“Like with anything, the slightest change in your swing is going to feel uncomfortable for a while,” he said. “It’s not like it’s that far way … I’d like to keep the speed and what I’m able to do, but just not make the swings that are producing that speed.”"

He’ll slow down his pre-Masters schedule, with just one start planned. Most of his work now will come on the range. It’s time to concentrate and fix what ails him. After all, a win at Augusta National would give him the career Grand Slam.

"“I’m pretty determined,” he said, “to get back to where I know I can be.”"