Rory McIlroy’s The Open catastrophe might not be the work of gusty wind. It might have more to do with how tangled his life has become in recent years. The Ulsterman’s former agent, Andrew ‘Chubby; Chandler opined McIlroy’s life off the course has a lot to do with his decade-long major drought. 

Chandler, who worked with McIlroy in his early days, felt that his involvement in the PGA Tour’s war with LIV Golf didn’t do him any good. Neither has his troubles with his wife, Erica Stoll, done him any favor. 

“Looking from the outside, and I haven’t seen Rory for a couple of years, but to me it looks like his life is messy. You know what it’s like as a sportsman, you have to have total focus and keep your mind on what you’re doing,” talkSport quoted the veteran agent. McIlroy hasn’t given him that chance. His changing stance on LIV Golf has put him in the crosshairs of loyal PGA Tour fans. At the same time, Ulsterman has faced scorn from LIV Golf supporters. 

On top of it, McIlroy filed for a divorce with his wife, Stoll. Sources close to her maintained that McIlroy’s focus on the merger has torpedoed his family life. Although they withdrew the divorce petition and have been spotted together several times, Chandler believed the last two years have been taxing for the Northern Irishman. 

“But it looks like Rory has spent a year and a half fighting LIV for the PGA Tour, then the PGA Tour pulled the rug from under him, then he started talking about LIV not being too bad, then he had his marriage problems, and then he’s got such media scrutiny because he hasn’t won a major in ten years.” Interestingly Chandler has expressed similar sentiments before in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports as well. 

Rory McIlroy wouldn’t entirely disagree with that sentiment. Speaking ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, the 35-year-old wished he hadn’t gotten ‘as deeply involved’ as he did. Regardless, McIlroy is still a member of the PGA Tour Transaction Committee that oversees the day-to-day activities of the merger with PIF. 

Chandler, in the interview, also detected one thing correctly. That Royal Troon was the last place McIlroy wanted to be on Friday. He predicted the Ulsterman must be looking for the flight back home. He was definitely thinking about it.

Rory McIlroy conceded the harsh reality before completing the front nine

McIlroy had some faint hope of going under par on Friday, crossing to the right side of the cutline. It took just four holes to punch a hole in that dream. On the par-5 4th, the Ulsterman carded a triple bogey. Rory McIlroy knew he was done. 

“I think once I made the 8 on the 4th hole, that was it. 22 holes into the event and I’m thinking about where I’m going to go on vacation next week. Yeah, that was basically it. I mean, I knew from then I’d sort of resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to shoot, whatever it is, 4- or 5-under from there on in to make the cut,” the former Open champion said after missing the cut. 

With majors gone, the four-time major winner wants to reset and focus on the Olympics. He will watch the Open from his home, though. His friend, Shane Lowry is in contention and Rory McIlroy is excited to cheer him on.