Rory McIlroy. Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Is Rory McIlroy really past his prime?

By Chelena Goldman | Last updated 7/24/23

There were only two ways the Open Championship was going to go for Rory McIlroy: He would win and be celebrated for ending his majors' drought, or he would fall short and field his fair share of criticism.

So when he finished T6 at Royal Liverpool on Sunday, talking heads instantly went after him. That included notorious "take man" Brandel Chamblee, who went on to say that the Northern Irishman is "past his physical prime" in the professional golf world.

Is he right? After spending nearly two decades on the scene, is McIlroy really past his best golf days?

Brandel Chamblee is a walking take quake . This one has it all. 1. Rory not in his physical prime 2. Cross-sport comp 3. “Optical acuity.”

Hate him or love him, you watch. shoutout Pete Weber pic.twitter.com/k5vINvTjdh
— Christopher Powers (@CPowers14) July 23, 2023

Chamblee argued that it isn't so much McIlroy's physicality that is waning, but some of the more nuanced skills it takes to be great at playing professional golf.

"I’m talking about mental, I’m talking about optical acuity, all these little things touch nerves, speed," Chamblee said on Sunday following the tournament broadcast. "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."

But while McIlroy is in fact older and doesn't have as much time to end that major drought as he used to, saying he's completely past his playing prime is a bit extreme. He did enter the season as the No. 1 golfer in the world and rebounded from an early season slump to finish T2 at the U.S. Open and win the Scottish Open ahead of last weekend's major.

So while the Open Championship wasn't his best showing -- honestly, few outside of Brian Harman looked that great — calling McIlroy "over the hill" is a bit dramatic.

Now, that doesn't mean the pressure is off McIlroy for the rest of the season. He'll have to sit with his thoughts and that T6 finish for a couple of weeks until he can defend his FedEx Cup title starting with the FedEx St. Jude's Championship. The major events may be over for this season, but there is still plenty of ground McIlroy can cover as August golf gets underway.

And that should give him just enough time to prove Chamblee wrong if he so chooses.

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