Tour Confidential: Rory’s Players win, viral fan incident, Sawgrass takeaways

Check in every week for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport, and join the conversation by tweeting us at @golf_com. This week, we discuss Rory McIlroy’s Players Championship victory, his viral fan interaction, what we learned at TPC Sawgrass and more.

Rory McIlroy took down J.J. Spaun in a Monday playoff to win the Players Championship for the second time in his career and claim his second win in three starts this season (the first time he’s had two wins before April). What’d you think of McIlroy’s week? And with the Masters looming, has he shown you anything to think this year at Augusta could be different?

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): Yes. He’s talked about swing tweaks, and he’s been working hard on his wedge game. I can’t say I understand what he has changed in his mechanics, but he’s been playing a more controlled game so far this season. Augusta, of course, is a different animal for McIlroy. The Masters has been in his head. But a month ago or so in this space, I chose him to win the green jacket this year. I like that pick.

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): If he’s walking up the 18th fairway at Augusta National with a two-shot lead, I’ll safely believe this year could be different. Until then, I think the burden falls on Rory to show us he is different.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@Schrock_And_Awe): The easy answer is yes but I think it’s unknowable. I think McIlroy’s decision to try to emulate Scottie Scheffler’s course management style and limit mistakes has clearly paid off so far. He’s hitting a variety of different golf shots, especially with his wedges and short irons. It’s all good. But with McIlroy, everything changes once he steps foot on Augusta National. As we saw this week with one chirp from Luke Potter, McIlroy’s failure at the Masters still cuts deep. Whether or not he can heal that mental wound once inside the ropes at Augusta is something that no one, not even McIlroy, knows.

McIlroy also made headlines earlier in the week, when he had a couple of fans kicked out and took one of their phones (which was later returned) after one of them heckled McIlroy for hitting a ball into the water during a practice round. Did McIlroy cross the line? Or did he have the right to do what he did?

Sens: I can understand the impulse in the heat of the moment. But he crossed the line. He’s a professional. He knows that dealing with yahoo behavior is part of his job. That involves rising above — or blocking out — the occasional idiocy around him.

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Colgan: Definitely crossed a line, but I’m also not bothered by it. If anything, I found it funny that the thing he desperately wants us NOT to talk about (Masters 2011/U.S. Open 2024) became the story of tournament week because of Rory’s own actions. In that same breath, kudos to him for vanquishing some demons with his performance on Sunday and Monday.

Schrock: I don’t think he crossed the line. To be honest, I don’t think we need to let hecklers off the hook for being cruel. It’s really easy to say that McIlroy should have just blocked it out but I think there’s something more endearing about athletes who aren’t robotic. From Potter’s perspective, I couldn’t imagine chirping someone who I hope to be peers with one day. That would be like me going to the Super Bowl and yelling at Dan Wetzel over the column he wishes he had back. What are we doing?

TPC Sawgrass proved to be a challenging yet entertaining test, the addition of a pesky tree made one front-nine hole much more compelling, and Justin Thomas nearly set the course record a day after he shot one of the worst rounds of the week. What did you learn this week?

Sens: This isn’t a new lesson but an old one reinforced. Venues matter. Architecture buffs can debate the merits of TPC Sawgrass until they are blue in the face. But there’s no doubt it’s a great tournament stage.

Colgan: I learned that this is still a really fun golf tournament, even when it’s missing some of LIV’s big stars. I really hope we find a way to get some of those players in the field in years to come, because, while this tournament is not a major, it does have some space between the next nearest golf tournament.

Schrock: The Players is a great tournament because of the combination of the course, the conditions and the spot on the calendar it holds. I think that having it be the first major-type test of the year really sets the stage for what’s to come and guys are really on edge because of that. But I guess the field was missing Joaquin Niemann. The absence of Phil Mickelson’s World No. 1 was felt for sure. This tournament will feel even bigger when/if the game gets reunified, but it’s an awesome test and has a diet major feel.

Who won the Players without winning the Players?

Sens: Danny Walker is an obvious choice, as he came in as a last-minute fill in and wound up T6. But I’ll go with Spaun. As painful as that playoff had to be for him, he can take it as a confidence boost that he got to extra holes, and also as an agonizing lesson learned. Both valuable, assuming he can look at it through those eyes.

Colgan: Bud Cauley and Danny Walker went from last-second additions to near-million-dollar paydays. That’s pretty good!

Schrock: Not Scottie Scheffler. The game’s best player didn’t have his best stuff and his attitude soured as his three-peat quest ran aground on Saturday. He is clearly not happy with where his game is after the layoff due to Ravioli-gate and has work to do to defend at Augusta. But in all seriousness, it’s Bud Cauley, Danny Walker and Spaun.

In honor of the Players’ three-hole aggregate playoff, which playoff format is best?

Sens: Three holes seems about right to me. Long enough to eliminate flukes, but not drawn out enough to become a death march. I wouldn’t have wanted to see this morning’s playoff go on a second longer.

Colgan: Depends on the venue. Some places should be the same hole over and over again. Some should be a full, 18-hole aggregate. TPC Sawgrass is dead perfect as a three-hole aggregate.

Schrock: If it’s a big event, it should be a full 18-hole aggregate. If it’s a non-major, non-Players Signature Event, it should be a three-hole aggregate. Everything else should be sudden death.

Joaquin Niemann won LIV Golf Singapore on Sunday, giving the 26-year-old pro two wins in four LIV starts this season. With the Masters a month away, is he the most dangerous LIV golfer playing Augusta?

Sens: I dunno. I wouldn’t look past a certain Masters winner named Jon Rahm.

Colgan: Well, Phil Mickelson called him the best golfer in the world, so I think that stands for something!

Schrock: Niemann needs to show a pulse in a major before we’re calling him a threat of any sort. It’s Bryson, Rahm, Hatton and Brooks. Then, maybe, Niemann. Maybe.