Give the kid a break!
After clobbering the field by eight shots at the US Open last month, Rory McIlroy decided to take some time away from competitive golf until next week’s Open Championship. Naturally, several questioned his strategy, including former Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie. (Haters gonna hate, right? Ugh.) Well, Rory was finally sick of the critics and responded via his website:
Some people may have wondered why I chose to go from one major straight to another without anything in between and the answer is simple. Because of what happened at Congressional and the way it became such a big deal, I wanted to get everything out of the way and sorted so that when I did start playing again I could just concentrate on golf.
If I had gone to France I just would not have been able to practice or prepare properly. Every time I play I want to go out there with a chance to win and that wouldn’t have happened. There were so many commitments and so much Media to do that I would have not been able to give my best so I decided to wait until I was absolutely ready.
I didn’t touch a club for 10 days after the US Open and then after just hitting balls on the range at home it did feel good when I finally got out on the course again. That was at Wentworth on Monday when I did a company day for Jumeirah and then I went down to Royal St. George’s on Tuesday and Wednesday so that I could get a good look before too many people were there.
The practice was great because we had one calm day and one when the wind got up so I got a great feel of what we can expect. It wasn’t my first visit because I remember playing the 2005 Home Internationals there and also the British Amateur the following year. And, more important, I like the course.
Some people think it’s a bit quirky in places, but I believe it’s a good test of golf. I don’t think the rough will be as heavy as they’d like it, but it will still be tough.
For me, it’s quite different to a lot of the other links courses because the greens at Sandwich are quite undulating with some pretty severe slopes in places. In some cases you can’t just run the ball up, you have to fly the ball all the way to the green and that’s ok by me.
Works for me. Golf is an individual sport, and at the end of the day, Rory has to do what’s best for him.
Rory hanging out with John McEnroe at Wimbledon
During his break, he had the opportunity to have some fun, including going to Wimbledon.
Having a break from the game did give me a chance to do some things I wouldn’t normally have done and one of those was to go to Wimbledon twice… and into the Royal Box.
I also had the opportunity to go in the locker room with my good friend Rafa Nadal and I also got to meet Roger Federer - two legends together. That was on the Monday and then I went back for the final which was another great experience although not the result I was hoping for.
Rory also acknowledged Tiger’s unfortunate absence this year at Royal St. George’s:
Tiger Woods won’t have a chance this year because unfortunately he has not recovered from his injuries. It’s always a disappointment when Tiger isn’t in the field because people want to see him play and he brings so much to the game. On the other hand, when he isn’t there it increases my and everybody else’s chances, but I’d certainly prefer him to be there.
No surprise — McIlroy is still the strong betting favorite for the Open.
(AP Photos)
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So he took some time off and approached next week his own way. Let’s revisit this in 10 days. Not that I’m picking him to win, but let’s see how he plays.
If there’s one thing Monty knows a lot about, it is preparing to win a major championship.
While skipping every tournament from one major to the next is unusual, it’s certainly justified in Rory’s case. The guy went from relative unknown (outside golf) to media darling/superstar overnight. Everyone wants a piece of him now, and he’ll have to be careful that he doesn’t let all the outside stuff dictate his schedule.
It was probably a good idea to do the media tour thing after his first major, but from here on out I hope he cuts back on the fluff and focuses on golf.
Uninteresting post, unusually.
But, what’s with all this ‘haters gonna hate’ c**p?
Stop writing in that ‘once was now’ vocab?
Enjoy RSG. Have a wonderful experience there.
Boo hoo, I’m a rich, superstar, professional golfer.
Good for him, but what about me. When I watch golf, I’d like to see the best golfers competing. More and more, it seems that the top golfers are only playing the majors and few other select tournaments. I think the tours are going to have to require a certain number of appearances from these superstars or risk hurting the tv appeal of the sport.
…
There’s an easy to keep the schedule simplified — just say no.
Charl Schwartzel didn’t seem to have any problem dealing with his schedule after winning the masters.
I like Rory and my guess is he has learned something from McDowell. How did Monty spend those weeks after he won his major(s)? Oh, wait a minute…
Check out the new documentary on Rory called “Rory – Major Breakthrough” It’s currently available on iPlayer and will be broadcast again on TV this coming week.
Superb as it follows Rory during the Masters, US Open and the days and weeks afterwards.
People were criticizing Rory with how he prepared BEFORE the US Open too, remember? OMG he went to Haiti! Why isn’t he preparing? Then he went out and dominated. You all are boring and predictable and dead wrong.
So we’ll see what happens next week. I’m not sure RSG is the course for Rory, so he’s not my pick to win; but he’s still near the top of the list.
The only thing about his logic is that he’ll still have tons of media and stuff on him next week anyway. So why would they affect him in France but not next week? But whatever, he can play when and where he wants.
Stick to your strategy Rory, good on you for making your own decisions.
much ado about nothing. Players prepare the way they desire and not what abyone says. All this chirping by the Euro is an effort to make that MCllroy is really big time and it truly matters how he prepares for any major. The proof of his preparation is in the performance.
Why is someone who questions his strategy a hater ? Most of them are fans that want Rory to reach his full potential as they see it. I’ve got no prob if he wants to take time off – we will see soon enough if it was an effective preparation for the Open, but I think reasonable people can disagre on that and not be considered a “hater”.