It is Brandel Chamblee’s job to give his opinion on the happenings in the golf world.
This week following the 151st Open Championship and another top-10 in a major for Rory McIlroy, Chamblee gave his opinion about where he thinks McIlroy is in his golf career.
And it wasn’t the most glowing report.
“I know you think he’s ripped, and he is ripped, but you reach your physical prime at 26/27,” Chamblee said. “You look at when players are dismissed from teams – it’s far earlier than you would think because they have statistics that show you’ve reached your statistical prime.
“I’m talking about mental; I’m talking about optical acuity, all these little things touch nerves, speed.”
Chamblee doubled down on this take and said that he thinks the door is closing for the Northern Irishman.
“I realize he’s ripping it, and he looks like a Greek god, but I’m talking about, at 34, he doesn’t have as much runway in front of him as he did when he won his last major.”
The results have been solid for McIlroy over the last two years at major championships, with a handful of top-10 finishes and only one missed cut. However, his drought without winning one now hits a decade.
After his T6 finish at the Open Championship this past week, McIlroy is once again the conversation for the golf commentators.
Even though he has not won a major in 10 years, McIlroy has 20 top-10 finishes in that span of time and is confident that his time will come once again to hoist a major trophy. Or, of course, try on a certain jacket.
“Over the last two years, would I have loved to have picked one of those off that I finished up there? Absolutely,” McIlroy said. “But every time I tee it up or most times I tee it up, I’m right there. I can’t sit here and be too frustrated. My game is in a … you think about my performances in the majors between like 2016 and 2019, it’s a lot better than that.”
McIlroy added, “Again, I’m optimistic about the future, and just got to keep plugging away.”
