Rory McIlroy needs to assess how much he truly wants to be world No 1 again alongside balancing his home life, according to former golfer Rob Lee. The Northern Irishman finished in a seven-way tie for fourth at the FedEx Cup over the weekend, finishing five shots off tournament winner Scottie Scheffler despite showing earlier signs of promise. Now 37, six-time major winner McIlroy admitted his "fuse was shorter than it used to be" before the final round at the East Lake Golf Club.
He had arrived in Atlanta off the back of three weeks of competing in a row, something he admitted he would never exceed again despite still managing a fourth-place finish over the weekend. "That just tells you how good he is," Lee told the Sky Sports Golf Podcast. "But I think Rory's body language this week wasn't great.
He looked slightly… is grumpy the right word? "But he's just slightly off that kind of affable, bouncy Rory that we normally see. So there's stuff going on with him… Rory's in this position.
He's played golf for 20 years at the highest level. "He realises there are other things in life, but the last thing he wants to do is not be able to be peak Rory. So his conundrum is 'how much can I pare back my schedule, but still perform the way I know I can?' That's the place he's in now.
"37 is still golfing prime. It's going to come down, for him, to desire. How much does he still want it?
And if he still wants it, I think he's going to have to play a bit more." McIlroy took an extended break after The Open, spending more time with his family before returning for this three-week run of events. "I absolutely think he can win more majors," Lee continued. "But going along with that is you sacrifice your home life.
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