Originally, this headline read “Golf Twitter meme’d Rory McIlroy to death …” Then, after continuing to scroll through the many tweets, I realised it was all of Twitter.
That’s when you know you are witnessing something historic – when all of Twitter comes together to pile on one person or one specific moment. Folks from every walk of life chimed in with their meme, their thought, their funny quip. Golf’s most recent example of this came on Friday of the 2024 PGA Championship last month, when World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was arrested outside of the gates of Valhalla Golf Club. Social media had the field day of all field days with that one.
If there is one consolation prize Rory McIlroy can take from Sunday’s gutting defeat at the 2024 U.S. Open, it’s that he has now become a possibly legendary meme on the ol’ bird app (yes, we know it’s X now). And if you are wondering what we are talking about, it’s this picture of McIlroy staring daggers through the television as he watched Bryson DeChambeau rip his heart out:
Pain personified. Now, McIlroy can go one of two directions with this. He can use this as fuel. It can be his “LeBron locking in” moment, where he goes on to triumph in the near future and this meme actually becomes a good thing he can joke about. Or, the uglier direction, where this becomes the lasting image of his career, a reminder of just how close he came before letting it slip away.
For now, if he dares to go online this week (would not recommend it), he’ll be met with an endless barrage of memeage golf hasn’t seen since Matthew Wolff ripped out Bryson DeChambeau’s heart at the 2019 3M Open. Remember that one?
Bryson's face when Matthew Wolff made his eagle putt on 18 šššš pic.twitter.com/hakzXEThqt
— Amanda Rose (@AmandaGolf59) July 7, 2019
Bryson has since bounced back admirably. Will Rory be next? Time will tell. For now, here are some of the more creative tweets we saw of McIlroy’s moment he wish he could forget:
When you go up to the bar for a pint and the group in front orders 12 cocktails.pic.twitter.com/vb5TBx4BLF
— Golf Tips Checker (@GolfTipsChecker) June 17, 2024
Standing at the bar after fumbling a dime piece 10 minutes earlier pic.twitter.com/eDO4jktqMH
— Rudy JUULiani (@RudyJUULianiV2) June 17, 2024
When your boss orders from Pizza by Alfredo instead of Alfredoās Pizza Cafe pic.twitter.com/PXWWO0UJkC
— Daniel Harmsš (@InHarmsWay19) June 17, 2024
āGonna be nine minutes on that spicy.ā https://t.co/GxP6Gcq4eL
— Will Bardwell (@willbardwell) June 16, 2024
Last hand of the night watching the dealer flip 6-5-King
pic.twitter.com/pymaSDYFyt— dub sleep (@dubbysleepy) June 17, 2024
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) June 17, 2024
— Brock šŖØ (@Golfingbrock) June 17, 2024
āhappy monday! just circling baāā pic.twitter.com/vmavZHavnF
— kyle robbins (@kylerrobbins) June 17, 2024
Again, there is a world where this one day becomes a positive meme in Rory McIlroy’s story. I speak for many when I say I hope that day comes soon.