Rory McIlroy’s Open Championship bid is faltering badly; the USPGA champion is +6 through 16 holes of his opening round.

Here he is lumping his approach putt to Muirfield’s 15th hole into a shell crater of a hazard lurking just beyond the green’s back edge.

(h/t Baconator)

Yesterday, the USPGA champion responded to advice/criticism from Sir Nick Faldo (who suggested the former world No1 needs to be more ruthless in his approach to practice) by saying:

“It’s a way I could never be. No, I could never be like him. I’m not like that.

“I will work as hard as I can, but there are other things which are important too.”

Laudable perspective, perhaps, but the sort of attitude that defines a sporting great?

I’m not sure.

Conor Nagle