by Justin Doyle
Graeme McDowell remained hopeful that McIlroy would join him in Australia.
I need my partner in crime in Melbourne and regardless whether Rory wants to play or not, I want to play this year. If it works, I’d like him to be there, as well. But we’ll see.
As referred to earlier, G-Mac would later make a heartfelt plea to Olympic authorites. He stated that after talking with Rory at length about the matter, Rory was worried and stressed out over the whole saga.
He therefore asked that the decision be made for him. Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley weighed in on the argument. He agreed with McDowell. He also suggested that there was a strong possibility Rory would not go to the Olympics.
McGinley said:
All I can say is that unless something is done, I really don’t think Rory will play in the Olympics which would be a shame – not just for the world of golf but for the Olympics as well.
He continued:
I’m one of those people who doesn’t think sport and politics mix and we can all see that Rory has a real problem here. I agree with Graeme McDowell who said that someone from the International Olympic Committee or a similar body should come forward and make the decision for him. As things stand, Rory is being asked to offend someone and that’s not right. He is not that sort of guy. He shouldn’t be placed in that situation.
This is a flavour of how I dealt with this controversial topic in the last book in 2011:
By far and away the biggest controversy of his career so far, is one that is set to be continually played out for many decades to come. It is the question of his, shall we say, ‘patriotic allegiance’.
Renowned golf journalist Charlie Mulqueen of Irish newspaper, The Examiner gives the intro to it:
There have been times when I wished Rory McIlroy had taken time to formulate an answer before expressing a view on anything that might be regarded as controversial. The remark, for instance, that he ‘looked forward to being a member of Team UK’ after it was announced that golf would be part of the Olympic Games rankled with many – and not just those with nationalistic leanings or the members of the GUI who had helped him along the way in his amateur days.
In The Telegraph of 29 September 2009, Mark Reason tried to make sense of it all as he explained and elaborated:
If you are McIlroy or Tommy Bowe and golf and rugby union are accepted into the 2016 Olympics at next week’s vote of the International Olympic Committee, do you represent Great Britain or Ireland?
McIlroy told Telegraph Sport:
I’d probably play for Great Britain. I have a British passport. It’s a bit of an awkward question still. It would be huge to play in an Olympics. I’d love to get an Olympic gold medal one day.
It is strange that golf and rugby should be up for inclusion at the same time because these are the sports that have historically unified Ireland. Ulster’s rugby team come under the governance of the Irish Rugby Football Union and players from the north and the south turn out for one Ireland team. Golfers do the same. Formed in 1891 the Golfing Union of Ireland is the oldest golf union in the world and the presidency rotates between the four provinces. It does not matter if you hit your wedges in Ulster or Munster, you play amateur golf for Ireland.
Professional golf also recognises one Ireland. At November’s World Cup in China there will not be a team from Northern Ireland and a team from the Republic, there will just be a team from Ireland. This year (2011) McIlroy and Graeme McDowell, both Ulster lads, will play for Ireland. Last year it was Graeme McDowell and Paul McGinley, who is from the south. On many previous occasions it has been McGinley and Padraig Harrington.
McDowell said after the International Olympic Commitee’s executive board proposed golf and rugby should be included in 2016 at a meeting last month:
It’s a strange one. Golf’s an all-Ireland sport. I’d play for anyone. I’ve never been able to explain why golf’s an all-Ireland sport and rugby’s an all-Ireland sport but soccer is two different teams. It’d be an honour to represent your country and I don’t mind which one I play for, […] it’s the biggest sporting event on the planet. I’d love to be involved in it, love to win a gold medal. It’s every young man’s dream, huge for golf around the world. Golf needs to go to the masses. I’m not a fan of golf being an elitist sport. Fingers crossed I get a chance to do it.
Padraig Harrington said: ‘In a country like Ireland, becoming an Olympic athlete is setting yourself apart. It is a major deal in Ireland. To be an athlete is an honour in itself.’ But Harrington will not have to make a choice if golf makes it to the Olympics. McDowell and McIlroy will have to state an allegiance, like so many athletes from Northern Ireland have before them.
A few years ago, Eddie Irvine got in a quite undeserved bit of bother over what flag to hoist after he finished second in a Formula One race. Captain Peter McEvoy had a similar quandary at golf’s 2001 Walker Cup. Someone had to hoist the tricolor at the opening ceremony but the two Irishmen in McEvoy’s team, McDowell and Michael Hoey, were both from the north. McEvoy says:
In the end it didn’t prove a problem and Michael was happy to do it as the amateur champion, but it could have been. It is strange that something like the Olympics comes along under the banner of good and we are now faced with this potential problem. It feels a bit of a retrograde step.
Peter Dawson, the chief executive of golf’s governing body, the R&A, said: ‘It’s a question that has yet to be resolved, but I suspect that giving the players the choice is the likely outcome.’
As it transpired further down the line, nobody was going to make the decision for Rory or take it out of his hands. Despite what Peter Dawson said, Rory would have to make that choice himself.
When Graeme McDowell flew to Australia to represent Ireland again, he made his bed. He was making a firm statement that he would be honoured to play for Ireland in Rio 2016 if he was to be selected. The same was true of his new partner Shane Lowry.
Three time major winner Padraig Harrington was not to be forgotten. He was not only still banging on the majors door and telling all and sundry that he could still win another one, he was also openly stating that he would love to play for Ireland in Brazil.
McIlroy had yet to make any decision. In fact, as Paul McGinley had said, there were now very real dangers that he would not play in the Olympics at all.
But Rory would surprise all by coming to a decision much sooner than he had envisaged.
Chapter 10
Waltzing Australia
Rory McIlroy was enduring a torrid 2013. Both on and off the course, nothing seemed to be going right. His game was in the doldrums and it was undoubtedly the worst run of form in his professional golf career.
What made the nightmare even more excruciating – and embarrassing – was that it just so happened to coincide with his mega-million dollar deal and switch to playing with Nike golf clubs. Off the course, things were even worse.
There were threats of legal action resulting from his leaving Horizon; every week there were headlines about whether he would play for Ireland or Team GB in the 2016 Olympic Games and even in his private life, malicious rumours were abound.
Despite the fact that, in between all the turmoil and heartache of under-performing, he got great solace and joy from being with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, media speculation began to mount that the couple were breaking up.
It eventually petered out, especially since there were no friends or family on any one particular side who came forward to confirm it. In fact, both Rory and Caroline had to constantly deny the rumours.
The media were eventually sent whining and whimpering away with their tails between their legs, because in the weeks and months thereafter there was no more substance to the story. In the meantime Rory kept on hoping that somehow he could turn his form around.
After all the misery of missed cuts and down-the-field finishes, he was now heading to his favourite major, the USPGA. Not only had he gone close to winning this major
the first few times he played in it, he was now going there as defending champion.
Everything seemed to be in his favour when thunderstorms drenched the course on the night before the event. As mentioned before, Rory is a class horse who goes on any ground but he has a real liking for soft ground conditions.
Played at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, Rory could not have wished for a better start. He was three under through his first four holes but again he suffered a few wobbles. After the turn he suffered back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 before an electric storm saved him.
Lightning in the skies forced play to be suspended for over an hour and this gave Rory the chance to compose himself. He could talk to his coach Michael Bannon and the pair could iron out the reasons he made those bogeys to fall from three under to one under par.
It certainly had the desired effect as immediately on the resumption of play, he birdied the 12th with an eight-foot putt. But he then proceeded to bogey the 17th when taking three putts to get down.
On the 18th he also struggled but managed to make par when another bogey looked likely. His problems had not gone away and he had a lot of work to do. Still, a -1, 69 was a good start. It left him four shots behind both Adam Scott and Jim Furyk who carded 65’s.
While American Jason Dufner ran amok in the second round with a marvellous seven under for 63, Rory’s frustrations continued. This time he shot a one over round of 71 to find himself nine shots behind Dufner who held a two shot lead over Furyk, Scott and Matt Kuchar.
The story of Rory’s third round is one of battling and brilliance. When he really had to shoot a very low score to cut the lead held by those at the top, he had to be content with a round that only got him back into contention, and no more.
However, a -3, 67 did give him a chance going into the final round. That was because those in front of him actually experienced contrasting fortunes, but the leading score remained at nine under par.
Jim Furyk showed his usual rock solid play and with rounds of 65, 68, and 68 he led by a shot from Dufner. But at least McIlroy moved forward after the likes of Justin Rose (with sevon over) and Kuchar (with six over) had days to forget.
So there was a certain satisfaction but it could have been an entirely different McIlroy mood had it not been for some of his magic on the last hole. Off the tee, Rory’s ball swung 20 yards off course and over the heads of the crowds into deep rough.
When he arrived on the scene, it was a case of all hands on deck. Rory rolled up his sleeves while the crowds moved their portable chairs, bags and even the litter bins in order to clear a path for Rory.
With a four iron in hand he whacked the ball out and up towards the green, but it fell short and into more rough. His two under round was unravelling and he faced another -1, 69 or worse.
As he walked up the 18th fairway acknowledging the crowd, he must have been thinking about just what he had to do to get rid of the demons plaguing his game. Then, with a wedge, he chipped it in the hole for birdie as the crowd whooped it up with delight.
Six shots adrift overnight was no forlorn hope. Dufner had posted a 63 the previous day and similarly, if Rory could manage to pull out one big round, just as a poker player calls on that one big card, Rory could so easily post a similar score or better.
After his 67 he said:
I wouldn’t say it was my best ball-striking round by any means but I got it up and down when I needed to. I knew they were going to toughen up the course. I sort of thought two 65s would have a chance, to 10 under par. I felt good enough about my game that I would go out there and post a good one to at least give myself a chance going into tomorrow.
So if he wanted to hit a 65 in both of the last two rounds, then by his calculations of 10 under, Rory now had to shoot 63 or better to be right in the thick of it. It was possible but in reality it was a tall order, and so it proved.
He shot a steady round of level-par 70 to remain three under. It was his highest finish since the Players Championship three months earlier when he also finished eighth. Jason Dufner on -10 fully deserved to win his first major by holding off Furyk by two shots.
A three week break ensued until he played again. The Barclays is an event that always signals a hectic end to the year. It is the first of the four Fedex Cup tournaments by the end of which one lucky golfer walks away with a cool $10 million bonus cheque.
Kevin Stadler, the son of legendary American golfer Craig ‘The Walrus’ Stadler, shot a stunning -7, 64 to lead after round one. Yet again Rory endured a topsy-turvy round eventually having to settle for an even par, 71.
Next day he shot 65 which was one of the best rounds he had put together for some considerable time. However, Matt Kuchar was now out on his own after he fired a double volley of 66, 65 to lead on -11.
As McIlroy had said in his last tournament, he now needed to blast two rounds of 65 to be in with a slim chance of winning this one. It never materialized. Another disappointing 71 effectively put paid to his chances as Kuchar on -12 was joined by Gary Woodland.
Among the middle starters in the final round, Rory never got anything going and finished on +1, 72. Adam Scott won a thrilling event by posting a 66. On -11, it was good enough to win by a shot from a group including Tiger Woods who tied second.
Rory tied 19th and although he was not out of the Fedex running, his hopes really vanished at the Deutsche Bank the following week. He ended in a share of 47th but one very positive thing did emanate from it.
In almost 10 months of competitive golf, he shot his lowest score of the year – a 64. Coming off the back of a 65 the previous week and a 67 at the USPGA, this was most encouraging.
One round was not enough though. He needed the consistency of doing it over three or four rounds to emerge as a winner again. Nevertheless, shooting such a low round was evidence that the tide might be turning in his favour.
It got worse and a fortnight later at the BMW, it was almost a case of two steps forward, six steps back. He must have felt like packing in his golf for the rest of the season after recording a miserable 78 in the first round.
Contracts and commitments meant that there was no way he could ever do that and the ignominy did not end there. His season was summed up in the fact that finishing tied 57th meant he failed to qualify for the Fedex Cup’s final event.
Not being part of the Tour Championship in Atlanta and the select group of 30 players battling for Fedex glory must have hurt him deeply. His game was now in crisis and even he, at that stage, must have started to feel that switching to Nike clubs had jinxed him.
Newspaper stories circulated to the effect that Rory was having sessions with leading sports psychologists. But the best psychology of all was to get out on the practice range and putting greens.
Doubtless he spent many hours meticulously doing just that with his coach as well as going through video footage, because he now had valuable time to do it. Missing the Fedex final meant that he had almost a month and a half until his next event.
‘Things can only get better’ as the lyrics go but Rory had been waiting a long time for his luck to change. He would also have another very long wait until his next event but perhaps a trip to the Far East might have a stimulating and refreshing effect.
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Suitcases were packed and at the ready for a fairly long stint of activity involving tournaments in China, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Those destinations would be crammed into a hectic traveling schedule leading up to Christmas.
The events were spaced out fortnightly meaning Rory would jet off to an event in the East for one week and then jet back West. He would need at least a week to recover from the long haul flights and time differences.
First up was the HSBC event in Shezhan, Shanghai, which has not been kind to Rory over the years. Inaugurated in 2005, Phil Mickelson has won it twice along with the likes of Martin Kaymer and Ian Poulter.
After the monotony of the US Tour the sights and smells of this bustling Oriental C
ity certainly helped. The weeks and weeks of hard work and preparation with his coach did not go to waste.
Rory opened up with an impressive 65. At seven under he was two shots ahead of Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez Castano. But once again, old habits die hard and next day the gremlins returned to haunt him.
An even-par 72 in the second round ruined all chance he had of winning the event because Dustin Johnson shot a brilliant nine under round of 63. That put him at the top on -12 and he never looked back after.
Two more excellent closing rounds of 66 and 66 gave the big American hitter a three shot winning margin over Ian Poulter with Graeme McDowell third. McIlroy’s opening round was really what gave him a sixth place finish but he was all of nine shots behind Johnson.
A very interesting thing happened in China with a glowing tribute paid to Rory by Tiger Woods. He had seen Rory’s game up close and personal from playing with him and out of the blue he blurted out to the world’s media:
“Mark my words – Rory will win before the year is out.”
Rory’s frustrating form continued at the DP World Championship in Dubai two weeks later. Mediocre rounds were sandwiched between two very good rounds of 67 but once more there were signs he was making real progress.
After a sixth place in China, he finished fifth in the Middle East but the encouraging signs were to be seen in the fact that he shot two 67s. Incredibly it was his first time to do this since way back in April when rounds of 67 and 66 earned him a second placing in Texas.
The hard work seemed to be paying off. He had staved off bad results and now had two top 10 finishes in succession. Now the big question was, could he keep the consistency going to the point of going all the way to the winning post?
Sydney, Australia, was the third and final leg of the journey before Rory could rest up with family for Christmas. Australian golf officials had made several advances to Rory in the preceding years trying to get him to play their best tournaments.