Rory McIlroy’s form has taken a sharp and public downturn just weeks after his triumphant win at the 2025 Masters. At the PGA Championship, he turned in a jarring performance, missing 30 of 56 fairways—among the worst in the field. His approach game wasn’t much better, ranking 65th in Strokes Gained: Approach and 69th in proximity to the hole, leaving him chasing par more often than setting up birdie looks. He finished T47 at 3-over-par, disconnected from the confident player fans had seen earlier this season. But poor ball-striking wasn’t the only story.

Just ahead of the PGA Championship, his TaylorMade Qi10 driver was flagged by the USGA for being non-conforming, reportedly due to excessive face flexibility. The test had been requested by the PGA of America, and while such checks are routine, this incident stood out because another player—Scottie Scheffler—had a similar issue that wasn’t leaked. In McIlroy’s case, news of the failed test circulated before the tournament even began, placing a spotlight on him from the start. The driver was deemed illegal and removed from play, forcing McIlroy to switch equipment just days before teeing off.

Then came the silence. For four straight rounds, McIlroy avoided media appearances entirely—an uncharacteristic move that didn’t go unnoticed. Golf writer Michael McEwan pointed out the double standard, arguing that while other players often face backlash for skipping pressers, McIlroy seemed to receive a pass. With tensions already high on tour and fans left in the dark, it all added another layer of scrutiny to a player suddenly in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Now at the RBC Canadian Open, McIlroy finds himself buried near the bottom of the leaderboard, tied for 146th at +4. As McIlroy navigates the $9.5 million event, his recent struggles and controversies have raised concerns about his current form and approach to the game, and many are saying that he might miss the cut. But it’s not a sentiment that McIlroy shares. Despite having been off pace, he thinks differently.

McIlroy said, “I actually felt like I played OK. It was my first outing with a new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some good iron shots, missed a couple of greens and didn’t get them up and down, especially those last couple holes. Overall, I’m pretty happy with how I played. I need to go a little bit lower [on Friday] and over the weekend to have a chance.” 

McIlroy’s assessment wasn’t far off. He found 10 of 14 fairways and gained strokes off the tee despite debuting a new TaylorMade Qi10 LS driver—an upgrade he’s been cautiously optimistic about. The club delivered, especially on the par-5 7th, where he hammered a 336-yard drive that set up an easy birdie. His iron play showed flashes of sharpness, particularly on the front nine, where he stuck approaches within 12 feet on three separate holes. But his struggles around the green were evident late in the round: a short-sided miss on 16 led to a bogey he couldn’t recover from, and a failed up-and-down attempt from the fringe on 18 ended his day on a frustrating note.

Even so, McIlroy walked off TPC Southwind with a level of quiet confidence, knowing that a few cleaner wedge shots could’ve turned an even-par round into something far more competitive. Still, not everyone was convinced.

Netizens think Rory McIlroy is ‘completely washed’

Starting off strong with what one fan said, “MC. I think winning Masters has him lacking motivation. May take a while to rediscover,” while another echoed the sentiment more bluntly: “Miss cut this week and definitely more this season. Completely washed.” The sting of these reactions isn’t just in their harshness—it’s in the fact that they’re being said about someone who just won the 2025 Masters. “This sucks,” one fan posted simply, a sentiment that now seems to echo louder than any leaderboard stat.

McIlroy’s recent downward spiral has only added fuel to those reactions. If he does miss the cut this week at the RBC Canadian Open—which many believe he will—it would mark his first since the 2024 Open Championship. That tournament, too, had been a collapse. At Royal Troon, McIlroy carded rounds of 78 and 75 to finish 11-over-par and five shots below the cutline. He later admitted that the damage was done early: “I think once I made the eight on the fourth hole, that was it… I mean, I knew from then I’d sort of resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to shoot four or five-under-par.” The openness with which he reflected on that loss now contrasts sharply with his recent silence.

Of course, that silence is part of the story, too. One fan remarked, “Well that’s not good,” while another quipped, “He won’t be doing any media this weekend.” And it’s possible they’re right. McIlroy has been criticized for skipping all four media rounds at the PGA Championship—a move he now says was driven by frustration over the leak about his nonconforming driver. “I was a little pissed off because I knew that [Scottie’s] driver had failed on Monday, but my name was the one that was leaked,” he said. “It was supposed to stay confidential… I didn’t want to get up there and say something that I regretted.” His intent, he explained, was to protect everyone involved—Scheffler, TaylorMade, the USGA, and himself. But in trying to shield others, McIlroy ended up absorbing the fallout alone.