Media can be a fickle friend but Rory must not change too much
Like a lamb to the slaughter, the headlines would not be favourable, regardless of whatever excuse he had.
Wisdom tooth or not, the press once again were about to have a field day at the expense of the world’s number one ranked golfer.
Rory’s pedigree as a golfer from an early age has meant that he has become very used to dealing with the media, but his recent elevation to the world’s number one position, coupled with his major championship successes and even more recently his defection from Titleist to Nike in one of the world’s most lucrative sporting contracts, has meant his life has changed forever.
Just a couple of months ago, I queried whether or not Rory needed to load himself with all the additional media hype a switch to Nike would undoubtedly bring.
By signing that contract, I argued that although he was financially securing his future, he was also becoming the new face of a commercially very savvy marketing brand and in the process replacing one of golf’s greatest ever players, Tiger Woods, the face of Nike for over a decade.
Nike in turn would demand its pound of flesh, that he change the tools of his trade, those same tools which had elevated him to the position as the world’s best golfer.
So, yesterday when he walked off the course, he became an immediate media target, such is his current newsworthiness. Major triumphs last year may well have brought about media glorification and with it expectation, but as Rory is now experiencing, the media can be a fickle friend.
So what does Rory do now?
1. He needs to surround himself with those he trusts most, those who have offered him the best advice throughout the years and those who have his best interests at heart. Players such as Pádraig Harrington, Graham McDowell and Paul McGinley are just three who have the experience and genuine goodwill to advise him.
2. He needs to remain confident and patient in his own ability, understanding that this is just a process he will work through.
3. He should not attempt anything drastic, like altering a proven and grooved swing, or indeed changing any of his proven coaches.
4. He needs to stay focused on what he does best, competing. I would argue that Rory has always played his best golf when he has been playing regularly and the stop-start nature of this year’s campaign has meant he has only competed in three tournaments and completed just five competitive rounds.
He needs to keep playing in tour events focusing on making cuts, then top 10 finishes and then tournament victories.
5. He needs to get more focused on his scheduling. That may well mean playing on easier courses or indeed playing the European schedule for a while, away from the media frenzy in America and back among players he may well feel that he can beat without his A game. Luke Donald did that a number of years back when he was struggling with his game.
At the end of the day, despite his success we must remember that Rory is just an ordinary guy, a thoughtful, engaging character and a wonderful ambassador for golf.
Like all of us he too feels pressure. If he could speak out he would probably hope that in his macho world where players are trained to hide their emotions, that people would give him the time and the space to resume his career as the most exciting and dominant player in the game.
