A new maturity steadies nerves
Players like Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson were dangerous and more than capable of blitzing the soft Valhalla course. More importantly, they were also starting ahead of McIlroy, and if they could get some early momentum, then they could make life very difficult for the form player in the world, the man looking to win his second successive Major championship and his fourth in total, in little over three years.
Form suggested that the supremely confident McIlroy was in control of the tournament. But the beauty of sport, and golf in particular, is its unpredictability.
McIlroy’s experiences, most notably his meltdown at Augusta, would have taught him that. But this is a different Rory. His driving prowess, arsenal of shots and most importantly his newfound gritty resilience make him a more fearsome, well-rounded, player.
For all his experience, Sunday would still have been a nervy day. McIlroy wasn’t helped by a rain delay followed by some early missed putts and an intolerably slow front nine holes, which made him look decidedly uncomfortable. The stop-start experience coupled with the fact that his playing partner looked out of place meant that there was no pattern or rhythm to his game — while ahead of him Mickelson, Fowler and Stenson were blitzing the course.
After six holes, you feared for McIlroy as the momentum shifted decisively towards those in front of him, especially the US players cheered on by the partisan crowds. But McIlroy’s response, when it came, was emphatic. The par fives were his only chance to reel in his challengers. If his chip shot on the seventh for his opening birdie of the round was pure genius, then his second to the 10th hole to set up an eagle was out of this world.
For me, it will probably go down as one of the greatest pressure shots of all time — bearing in mind the circumstances and the fact that he had hit the same shot out of bounds earlier in the week.
In three holes, he had turned it around. He had gone from limping tamely out of the tournament to being a contender once again.
In an instant, McIlroy had emphatically defined himself for what he is: the greatest golfer on the planet.
In ultimately winning, by far and away, the hardest of his four Major championships, nothing now seems impossible for the 25-year-old. And it appears there’s no real indication that McIlroy is prepared to take his foot off the accelerator any time soon either.
In his prime, Tiger intimidated when leading from the front because his record was so strong in closing out victories. His dominance was borne out of making so few mistakes under pressure. The master pressure putter.
Rory, on the other hand, intimidates through aggressive golf, forcing players to shoot low scores and to continuously play aggressively on tough golf courses. Instead of protecting his leads, he relentlessly seeks to extend them. For example, how many times last week did we watch him respond to round-defining setbacks or when his lead has been threatened?
That takes courage and no shortage of mental strength. It also amply demonstrates McIlroy’s new maturity.
McIlroy’s dominance stems from his driving ability. Much like Greg Norman of old, he is the game’s most consistently dominant driver and on soft courses like Valhalla, that is a huge asset.
In time, I would argue his driving ability may well be rated as influential as Phil Mickelson’s lob wedge and Tiger Wood’s putter.
Refreshingly honest, McIlroy is not afraid to front up to the media. Nor is he afraid to speak his mind or reveal his demons — all of which make him very popular with reporters.
Unlike Tiger, McIlroy doesn’t openly appear to be overly fixated with breaking records consistently or indeed the chase for Nicklaus’s haul of Major tournaments. =But given his present dominance in the game, it continuously invites comparisons and hype.
Going forward, he has the Fed Ex Cup and the Race to Dubai to look forward to, as well a little old Ryder Cup match against the Americans at Gleneagles.
His next true golfing date with destiny will be at Augusta National next April, where a win would make him only the sixth man in history to complete a Grand Slam of Majors.
Who would bet against him achieving that?
