Rory McIlroy became a household name through his impressive performances on the world’s fairways and greens – and while his form withered over the years, golf fans still want to see him perform
Sky Sports presenters have defended the broadcaster’s frequent coverage of Rory McIlroy, despite the star struggling for form.
Andrew Coltart and Laura Davies brought golf fans coverage of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the weekend – a competition in which McIlroy finished T25 with an overall score of -4. McIlroy has only won two competitions on the PGA Tour this year – snagging the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April alongside Shane Lowry and the Wells Fargo Championship in May.
He also kicked off his year with a DP Tour win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January, but his three wins are a far cry from what the 35-year-old was achieving in his heyday. And considering the pro hasn’t won a major tournament in 10 years now – his last coming in the form of the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla back in 2014 – a number of fans have questioned why McIlroy still receives the amount of TV coverage that he does.
However, Coltart and Davies said that McIlroy still ‘moves the needle’ in terms of viewership in 2024, citing how his following at the Old Course St Andrews on Sunday was far higher than the one following the close-knit battle between Tyrrell Hatton and Nicolas Colsaerts.
Coltart said: “I can’t help but notice I’m watching all the crowd… if everybody wonders about who still moves the needle, Rory McIlroy is still on that other nine holes and he is out of this tournament and not in contention, and yet the whole crowd are following McIlroy instead of the unbelievably talented and potentially the winner for the third time in this event, Tyrrell Hatton. What does that say?”
Meanwhile, Davies added: “Well it just says, you know we get criticised for going on about Rory McIlroy a bit too much, but this is just what people want to see. There is proof of it.”
Tyrrell Hatton won the tournament ( Image: Getty Images)
Hatton ultimately bested Colsaerts in the final round of the tournament, clinching his third title at Dunhill Links with a score of -24 to the Belgian’s -23. Both men headed into the 18th hole of the final round level on -23, but 32-year-old Hatton hit a remarkable birdie while Colsaerts had to settle for a par.
Despite hitting under par in each of the four rounds at the tournament, McIlroy couldn’t quite keep up with the top half of the leaderboards, finishing in T25 alongside Padraig Harrington, Robert MacIntyre, Scott Jamieson and six others. The Northern Irishman will hope for a better result when he takes to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship next month.
