Rory McIlroy did not inspire NBC Sports analyst Brandel Chamblee with his performance at The Open Championship. Quite the opposite as Chamblee openly pondered on Sunday whether the star golfer neared the end of his physical prime.
McIlroy, 34, finished tied for 6th place at the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Like many others, he failed to catch Brian Harman, who led the event from wire to wire, before earning his first major championship. Rory shot 3-under for the tournament, but despite that, Chamblee voiced some critiques before he suggested the Northern Ireland native in McIlroy might be winding down.
GOLF.com wrote that Chamblee said of McIlroy, “It’s almost like he’s trying to win his first major all over again. Except now, he’s not in his physical prime, and he’s got the weight of the world on his back.” Chamblee then continued, saying, “You reach your physical prime at about 26, 27, 28. Now I know you think he’s ripped, and he is ripped, all right? But you reach your physical prime 26, 27.
“I realize he’s rippin’ it, and he looks like a Greek god. But I’m talkin’ about, at 34, he doesn’t have as much runway in front of him as he did when he won his last major championship.”
It’s true that Rory hasn’t won a major championship since 2014. But we’ve seen many golfers play well past their physical prime. Rory hasn’t won a major in a while, but he’s shown strong form, so as you might expect, reactions to Chamblee’s comments were all over the board. But some of them didn’t agree with what he had to say about Rory McIlroy.
Rory can play at a very high level for years to come. But his problems are all about his putter. Unfortunately putting skills definitely deteriorate with age. https://t.co/rmu1wVfOXk
— Jeffrey Frost (@JeffreyFrost1) July 24, 2023
Man I am not a huge Rory fan but we just watched Phil win a major above FIFTY – what are we even talking about here? https://t.co/kaHJhKZ7by
— Grant F (@Grant_Croft) July 24, 2023
Is the clock ticking faster for Rory now? https://t.co/s2fOwRVRgH
— 19th Hole Golf ⛳️🥃 (@jwattsgators1) July 24, 2023
Rory is right there in every major. Brandel Chamblee is sending out freezing cold takes on the regular. https://t.co/QINM3Rknfs
— Andrew Boyle (@ABoyle013) July 24, 2023
“Rory McIlroy is older than he was 10 years ago.”
~ Brandel Chamblee, 2023
Incredible insight 😶 https://t.co/Oezakl53NU
— Rory Anderson (@YGTRory) July 23, 2023
[GOLF.com]
