Let's all calm down a bit about the Rory McIlroy comeback story

Rory McIlroy never went anywhere.

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Rory McIlroy, one of the greatest golfers in the world, picked up the 19th PGA Tour win of his career on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte and if you watched the coverage of the event you may have thought this was one of the greatest comeback stories in all of golf.

In reality, however, it wasn’t really that at all because in order to come back from something it would mean you would have to go away from something, and McIlroy never really did that.

Sure, the stats say this was McIlroy’s first victory in 18 months, which sounds like a lot of time especially considering his talents.

The stats also tell a different story during that time and it’s a story about a really great golfer who has played some very good golf over those 18 months.

Since winning the HSBC Championship in the fall of 2019, McIlory has had 10 top 10 finishes in the 25 tournaments that he’s played. Five of those finishes have been top 5 finishes.

That’s some pretty incredible golf that about 99 percent of professional golfers would love to play. He’s racked up a ton of money, a ton of world ranking points, and has been a factor in a number of big tournaments. It’s not like his game totally broke down and he went away and was rarely seen on television as he tried to “battle his way back” from whatever had had lost.

McIlory has been very good since that win in 2019, he just hasn’t been able to close things up the way we’ve grown used to seeing him do over the years. That is what made his finish yesterday so fun to watch because a winning McIlory is so good for golf. He can be an absolute force when everything is clicking, which it was doing for him over the last four days in Charlotte.

Part of the problem is when you’re so great, just a little drop off can feel like a lot. McIlroy missed the cut this year at The Players Championship and the Masters, which isn’t like him at all. But hey, this is professional golf and that can happen. Lots of players miss lots of cuts all the time. It’s a very hard game filled with lots of great players.

Also, some of McIlroy’s “struggles” came last year when the Tour returned from the COVID-19 break and pushed forward with events that didn’t allow fans to attend. McIlroy admitted that he was missing something without the adrenaline that the screaming crowds provide, which is a very real thing and it’s very easy to understand why he might not have been able to press down on the gas the way we’re used to seeing.

Now McIlroy’s latest win couldn’t have come at a better time as next week he will tee it up in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, where he won the PGA Championship in 2012 by eight strokes. Eight strokes! He’s now the favorite to win there again when play starts a week from Thursday.

But yeah, McIlroy didn’t really go anywhere over the past 18 months. He just basically hung around and played a lot of very good golf.

Now, though, it looks like he’s ready to play great golf and I couldn’t be more excited about it.

Quick hits: Luka Doncic becomes a meme… Jalen Rose’s emotional moment on ESPN… DK Metcalf impresses… And more.

– Luka Doncic’s reaction to getting ejected Sunday for a groin shot instantly became a meme.

– Jalen Rose broke down in tears while talking about his late mom on NBA Countdown on Sunday.

– Seahawks WR DK Metcalf didn’t qualify for the Olympic Trials but he sure did impress everyone with his performance in his 100-meter race.

– Ducks goalie Ryan Miller shared an awesome moment with his parents after his final NHL game.

– Braves pitcher Tyler Matzek found an incredible way to turn a double play.