Rory McIlroy Quickly Became the PGA Championship's Best New Meme
One of the biggest storylines at Aronimink Golf Club is the extremely slow pace of play. Golfers are taking around five hours to finish their rounds at the PGA Championship. The trio of Justin Thomas, Keegan Bradley and Cam Young were even given a slow-play warning on Friday, which really frustrated Thomas.
The extreme winds and the tough pin placement, which Scottle Scheffler called "the hardest set of pin locations that I've seen since I've been on Tour," made the pace of play feel even lengthier. There was nothing the golfers could do to pick up the pace with these obstacles.
The slow play made golfers exhausted on the course, too. Waiting around instead of keeping up the momentum can really mess with the golfers, especially when they're trying to better their score to make the weekend cut at a major.
One of those golfers attempting to make the cut was Rory McIlroy, who entered the second round with a score of 4-over, putting him outside the cut. He may have called his first round "s---," but he found his footing a bit better on Friday.
After scoring 2-under on the front nine, McIlroy had a short break before teeing off on the 10th hole as the groups got a bit backed up. As Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm prepared to tee off, McIlroy decided to find his "zen" by sitting down with his back against the back of the tee box. He sat there with his eyes closed to relax before taking on the back nine.
Rory McIlroy chilling on the 10th tee box at Aronimink.
- Golf Channel (@GolfChannel) May 15, 2026
Caption this pic.twitter.com/FHnAjaBLuJ
This picture became an instant meme online, and honestly the best one of the tournament so far. McIlroy finding his peace in the middle of a slow, slow round summed up the PGA Championship perfectly.
And, of course, X users delivered by creating funny captions to pair with the McIlroy meme. Check out some of the best ones we saw.
When it's 7.18am and you have a tee time with Garrick Higgo at 7.18am. pic.twitter.com/wSBw5VGOCX
- Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) May 15, 2026
When the boss asks for "one more thing" at 4:55 PM pic.twitter.com/PhN0NNpqKz
- Fried Egg Golf (@fried_egg_golf) May 15, 2026
When you've decided the only part of your new year's resolution of getting in shape that will continue is the protein shake part. pic.twitter.com/mIV109V9Ei
- Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) May 15, 2026
Me at 4am in McDonalds pic.twitter.com/OrQQiJm6W9
- RORY FANS (@rory_fans) May 15, 2026
"Have a sec for a quick call??" pic.twitter.com/bSswVSLwBa
- Carolyn Zacharias (@heycarolynz) May 15, 2026
A meme that will be useful for many situations in the future.
The "zen" worked for McIlroy. He finished 1-over and made the cut for the weekend.
More Golf from Sports Illustrated
- Bryson DeChambeau's Miserable Month Continues With Missed Cut at PGA Championship
- Why Scottie Scheffler Thought Aronimink Friday Was ‘Absurd'
- Justin Thomas Disagreed With Slow-Play Warning in a Brutally Long Friday at PGA Championship
- Dustin Johnson Will Play This Weekend at the PGA, but He's Not Sure What's Next
- Garrick Higgo Did the Right Thing Before His Second Round Tee Time After Being Late at the PGA Championship
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This story was originally published May 15, 2026 at 4:41 PM.