by Justin Doyle
Before his return to Augusta, he said that taking such time off was necessary for him so that he would come back ‘refocused and refreshed’. That seemed to work for the first half of the Masters, when he found himself just a shot behind the leaders until he blew up.
Behind the scenes, what most people fail to realise is that professional golfers take large periods of time off in order to work on their game. This is especially the case if a player has had a bad time in his previous tournament, which is what befell Rory in Augusta.
Time off allows a player to spend hours and days working on aspects of his or her game, such as driving, swing, posture, putting and all sorts of other areas. ‘Hard practise’ is something that the greats like Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus strongly advocate.
However there was a big price to pay for Rory’s absence. Following his miserable Masters, Luke Donald finished third in the Zurich Classic at the end of April and so reclaimed the world No 1 spot, having lost it briefly two weeks previously.
Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo championship is one of Rory’s favourite events. It was there in 2010 that he not only won his first ‘biggie’ on the US Tour, but he also tore the course apart with a course record round of -10, 62.
On the eve of his 23rd birthday, he opened up with a -2, 70 and next day the birthday boy improved better still in his second round. Starting on the 10th, he birdied that as well as the 11th and 15th before giving one back on the 18th.
He rallied again with further birdies on the fifth and ninth to finish with a -4, 68 for the day and six under for the tournament. He was nicely poised in 13th place at the half way point and was reasonably happy, stating:
I have been able to get it around and being six under after two rounds is pretty good considering the way I’ve hit the ball. I just need to do some work this afternoon on the range and hopefully play better on the weekend. To be honest, a lot of my drives are ending up in the semi rough. You do need to hit the fairways here to give yourself every chance but I’ll take 68.
‘Moving Day’ saw Rory do just that. He shot a superb -6, 66 to be -12 for the tournament and two shots behind joint leaders Webb Simpson and Ryan Moore. He would go out in the penultimate group and with a chance of winning his second Wells Fargo in three years.
All the drama happened on the last couple of holes. Rory was three under for his round coming to the 17th hole and he was in a share of the lead at 15 under with 35 year old ‘journeyman’ D .A Points.
Rory dropped a shot at that hole to fall a shot behind Points who made par. It looked like he would fall short again as the title was Points’ to lose. The little known American was playing out of his skin and had not dropped a shot for his past 39 holes!
Talk about pressure; talk about nerves and bottle and then there is the cruel hand of fate. Why oh why did it take Points until the very last hole to drop a shot, as he did on the 18th? Destiny has dealt this sinister card on countless numerous occasions.
There was a look of horror and abject disappointment on his face as he stooped to pick his bogey ball from the hole. It was his first dropped shot in 40 holes and the look on his face was also one of resignation. He was resigned to the fact that Rory looked victorious.
As Points stood back watching, another dramatic moment was to follow. Rory stood over a 15-foot putt for the title. Photographers got into position, fully expecting to snap more glory for worldwide media exposure. He missed!
The two men shook hands knowing they would have to go to a playoff. Another man who was watching the drama unfold from the clubhouse would join them. Clad in his now-famous orange boiler-suit, Oklahoma’s own Rickie Fowler also finished 14 under.
Back to the 18th tee they trawled in their buggies with caddies and clubs in tow. Smiles, sips of water, handshakes and the hearts were thumping again. Without any doubt, the trio held various emotions in their bodies.
It is certain that at least one body was ravaged by nervous tension to the point that he could hear his heart in his ears as he unleashed his drive. His legs also felt weak. Another surely felt calm with nothing to lose and with a sense of ‘gung ho’ and ‘give-it-a-go’.
No doubt one of them also had the feeling that he was destined to win, because he was playing like he had not played in a long time. He was playing magnificently. Every shot he played was sublime. As Tiger would say, ‘he had his A-game with him’.
McIlroy left the other two in his wake. His drive measured an astonishing 340 yards. He was in pole position. But Fowler was not too far behind and Points, who was trying to battle the demons of what had befallen him a few minutes before, still held every chance.
We would not have to wait long for the outcome. There would be no second tie hole to negotiate. The matter was settled with their second shots to the green. Rory and D .A hit fairly tame efforts while Ricky Fowler played the shot of his life. The shot of his career.
He played his second shot before Rory and the result, with the crowds going wild, was probably the reason why Rory followed with a poor effort, because Rory now had that feeling of resignation knowing that he would need something amazing to better Fowler’s.
Ricky’s shot came to rest four feet from the pin. A few minutes later, he duly slotted home for his first Tour win. How ironic that two young men tipped and touted to dominate world golf into the future had both won their maiden US titles at Quail Hollow.
It is also worth noting that Ricky Fowler is two years younger than Rory and both played in the 2007 Walker Cup. Some consolation for Rory lay in the fact that in his see-saw battle with Donald for world No 1, he had just leapfrogged back to the top again.
Ever the sportsman, McIlroy paid a generous compliment to his good friend Fowler:
You wouldn’t call the 18th today a birdie hole with the pin situated where it was. So for Rickie to go out and play that hole the way he did, he deserved to win.
In total contrast to his beloved Wells Fargo event, the Players Championship is without doubt an event that Rory travels to with a feeling of apprehension. ‘Sawgrass’ is a course which, to date, he has not really taken to.
Every golfer on the planet, amateur or professional, comes across a golf course (or hole) where at the first instant he or she sees it, a dislike or discomfort is formed. When that happens it is very hard to eradicate the feeling and it will continue to persist.
Rory no doubt heard about the so-called fifth major when he was growing up. He heard about its infamous 17th hole and he probably watched down through the years a lot of the carnage that unfolded at that hole.
The following is an excerpt from the previous book, ‘Rory – His Story So Far’. It gives you a feeling of Rory’s thoughts concerning the ‘Players’ before he ever played it and how he has played it since:
“Over the years, Rory no doubt watched from his armchair, amid much amusement like the rest of us, as great golfers found themselves in big trouble there. No hole better illustrates the treacherous condition of Sawgrass than its infamous 17th.
Requiring no more than a wedge, this short par-three still manages year after year to make fools out of the world’s greatest golfers. The reason – from the tee, the green looks like a tiny target set against the backdrop of it being surrounded on all sides by water.
It is a cruel hole. Each year as the 160 golfers begin their rounds here, almost every single one of them has the 17th on their minds. As they play through the previous holes, they are all acutely aware of that ‘bogey hole’ lying in wait up ahead.
During the course of their rounds, golfers can hear the roars, the screams, the shrieks and the ‘oooohs and ahhhhs’ of the crowds which signals to them that another ball has hit the water.
Then, when their own time has come to stand on that 17th, with spectators and millions watching on TV, it can be akin to standing in front of a judge in court, or worse still, an executioner. The pressure can be enormous with many legs and limbs turning to jelly.
Here is another interesting take on Sawgrass and
on Rory McIlroy which was written by Jay Busbee. Born Howard James Busbee Jr., he is an American novelist, sportswriter, comic book writer and well known golf bloggist. He wrote:
These kids today and their video games. So locked into their Xboxes and their Wiis and their Playstation 3s, they don’t know what to do with life when it smacks ‘em right in the face.
Case in point: Rory McIlroy, who knows a thing or two about both real golf and the video kind. He kills time between tournaments by playing ‘Tiger Woods ‘09’, and just this week got his first live taste of Sawgrass, a course he’s completely mastered - he once shot a 54 over 18 virtual holes - on the game.
Rory’s verdict, according to Reuters:
It’s a lot different. You get up to holes like 11 on the computer and you can drive it up to the big tree on the right, which is like 150 from the green, I had a good drive yesterday and was still hitting a five wood in, it is not quite like it is on the Play Station.
Yeah, I’ve found that hunting zombies and carjacking a Ferrari in South Beach is a lot tougher in real life than it is in video games, too (Tip: neither one is recommended). Now, unlike the rest of us, McIlroy can actually play as himself in the game without having to create a slightly more muscular, slightly more handsome version of ourselves. Even so, no matter how graphically accurate the simulation may be, he’s not even close to experiencing the real thing - not unless he’s got a constant loop of goofballs yelling ‘Get in the hole!’ running on his iPod as he plays.’
To many, it is euphemistically referred to as ‘The Island Green’. Rory was to get his very first taste of it and it would not be pleasant on his palate. He was not spared or shown any mercy.
Even though he was -2, he really struggled through his round which included three bogeys. Then splash! Rory took a triple-bogey six at the 137-yard beast! Karl MacGinty of the Irish Independent described Rory’s tee shot:
The Holywood youngster’s jaw dropped in astonishment after his tee shot, hit with a wedge, flew right over the island green and disappeared into the dark green water. McIlroy turned and looked at his caddie, JP Fitzgerald, in disbelief. ‘Did you ever see a wedge fly 150 yards,’ he was still asking as he left the recorder’s hut after signing for a first round 74.
This is what Rory felt about his first ever dice with the dreaded 17th of Sawgrass:
It was 148 yards to the pin today. I hit a wedge and just flew the lot. I don’t know if I got a gust or something. I wasn’t going big with my third shot from the drop zone. I spun it back to the front and took three to get down.
Rory was two under coming to that 17th hole. Less than half an hour later, he finished his round +2. The next day, Rory missed the cut. This time he got through it unscathed but the rest of his round was not so good.
He signed for a +5, 77 in a round that included 5 bogeys and a double bogey seven at the par-five 9th hole. The course had left a bitter taste in Rory’s mouth. Without any question, it was the dreaded 17th which caused all the problems to begin with and sent Rory home.’
Things did not get any better in 2012 as Rory missed a second succesive cut at the Players Championship. He may have mastered it in its ‘virtual’ format on screen, but the ‘live’ fresh air version is something that Rory continues to struggle with.
Chapter 4
Made in the USPGA
The missed cut at the 2012 Players Championship followed on from Rory popping back across the Atlantic to play the BMW at Wentworth, where he also missed the cut with rounds of 74 and 79.
It set in motion a miserable sequence of events and ‘M/C’s. Three weeks after Sawgrass, he missed another cut on the US Tour before finishing seventh in the St Jude Classic. He may have been buoyed by that but it was only a temporary respite, as worse was to follow.
Rory teed off at the Olympic Club in San Francisco on 14 June in defence of his US Open crown in a very good frame of mind thanks to St Jude. But it was to be a lost cause. He was all at sea in a first round horror 77.
He improved marginally the next day by shooting 73 but it was too little, too late. Rory would not be defending his crown over the weekend. For a holder of a major, that was somewhat embarrassing. Defending champions do their utmost to play the full event.
Two weeks later, girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki joined Rory for the Irish Open. Amid all the frustration, Rory’s smiles shone again with the help and urgings of a partisan home crowd.
Rounds of 70, 69 qualified him for the weekend and although he hit a disappointing 71 on moving day, a magnificent -5, 67 on Sunday shot him up to a tie for 10th place. It was just the tonic he needed for the British Open, three weeks later.
Another great fillip was the addition of Michael Bannon to Rory’s team. Bannon had coached Rory since he was a boy but was now only occasionally helping out. But an SOS had been sent out to Bannon.
A full time golf teacher and coach in Bangor, Northern Ireland, he left that position to join McIlroy on tour as his new full time coach. Both were caught on BBC television cameras at the Open. The pair worked on various aspects of Rory’s swing.
His game looked like it was in need of a lot of work as he finished way down the field with the also-rans and, if seasons are measured in terms of majors (which Rory’s are), then this one scored ‘woeful’.
Tied 40th in the Masters, M/C in the US Open and tied 60th in the British Open was just not good enough for a player tipped to be one of the all-time greats of golf. He had one chance left in the USPGA. Whatever issues Rory had, they had to be sorted – and fast.
The Bridgestone Invitational two weeks later was the last event before the USPGA the following week. It looked like he was struggling again after an even-par round of 70 to start. But rounds of 67, 67 and 68 meant he finished in a tie for fifth without threatening.
It was promising; so much so that London’s ‘Racing Post’ newspaper picked Rory as one of their selections to win the final major of the year. They touted his hitting the ball 344 yards at the Bridgestone, adding that if his putting was better, he would have won.
That aside, a pattern was emerging. Some terrible performances were followed by a Top 10 finish but he could not seem to string two good results together. Then the USPGA arrived, an event for which he did have an excellent record.
In three previous attempts at the USPGA, Rory was actually in with a great chance of winning. His debut at Hazeltine GC, Minnesota, in 2009 saw near record crowds turn up to watch the 91st running of what is traditionally the season-ending major.
Tiger Woods opened up with a -5, 67 in the first round to lead by one shot from Padraig Harrington. Rory shot a -1, 71 and he was quite content with his very first performance in the event, especially since Hazeltine is a tough course.
A second round of +1, 73 left him well off the pace as Woods increased his lead at the top to seven under, but another round of 71 on the third day put him back into under par figures for the tournament and he was not out of it.
He shot another nice round on the final day. But a -2, 70 was never going to trouble Tiger Woods and Y E Yang, and Rory finished his first USPGA at three under in a tie for third place with Lee Westwood.
Woods, who led going into the final round and seemed sure to add yet another major to his haul, buckled under the pressure of Yang’s dogged persistence. The Korean matched him shot for shot and eventually won by three shots on eight under par.
Yang became the first Asian to win the USPGA but it was a case of what might have been for another Irishman. Behind Tiger Woods going into that final round, Padraig Harrington actually started the day level with Yang.
However, when he looks back on this particular event, he will wish to forget in a hurry the horror that befell him on a fairly easy par three. Padraig blew his chances of winning a fourth major by running up a ‘quintuple-bogey’ eight on that eighth hole!
Rory admitted to showing very poor judgement on the greens. He started with a double-bogey but then hit a rich vein of form by rattling in four birdies. Anoth
er bogey on the 12th, and some missed opportunities, put paid to his chance of victory.
Nevertheless, it was his highest finish in a major to date and summing up, he said:
I’ve had some good results lately and I’m looking to build on these results next year and hopefully try to do a bit better. I think coming into this week, I didn’t have my best form or my best game with me. So to finish tied third is a great result for me.
Onto 2010 at Whistling Straits, and Rory would come even closer to winning the USPGA. He did indeed build on his impressive debut from the previous year and by the time he left Whistling Straits, he could only think of how close he came to victory.
Similar to Hazeltine the previous year, he opened with a pretty ordinary 71. He followed that with a -4, 68 in the second round to lie on five under par at the halfway mark. It was also a case of two cuts made from two in the USPGA.
Leader Matt Kuchar on eight under par led by a shot from Nick Watney so Rory was in a nice position with two days to go. Watney, though, had other ideas. On ‘moving day’, he put space between himself and the rest of the field by shooting a magnificent 66 to go to -13.
Not to be outdone, and keeping himself very much in the hunt, Rory shot 67 and was only three shots back on -10. He was level with Dustin Johnson and both would play in the second-to-last pairing on the final day.
Alas, and for the second year running, things just did not swing Rory’s way. Although he got the better of Watney, who fell apart with a final round 81, Bubba Watson shot a final round 68 to join Martin Kaymer in a playoff at -11.
Agonisingly, Rory had finished just a single shot adrift. Although he had tied third yet again, it was hard for him to stomach the fact that he had failed to break par in the last round. Had he managed to do so, he would have gone close to winning. He said:
I’m ok. I had a few bad swings the first few holes and I managed to recover well. After those escapes, I had a few chances that went by on the back nine. It was just one of those days when I felt I hit good putts but nothing went in. I’m pleased overall as I played nicely all week and I just needed to find one more shot in there on any of the four days, which is disappointing.