Rory’s ’bouncebackability’ in the face of adversity
In his seven years as a professional, McIlroy’s found a variety of ways to find himself behind the eight ball, on and off the course and has not always rebounded at the first opportunity.
Here, the Irish Examiner chooses just a few instances of McIlroy's bouncebackability in the face of adversity.
Having made his US PGA Tour breakthrough with a victory at Quail Hollow, McIlroy's first two rounds at the 2010 Open Championship were a roller-coaster in microcosm. An opening 63 at St Andrews was the lowest round in the history of the game's oldest major but was followed by a calamitous second-round 80.
Immediate: Rebounded in style with rounds of 69-68 at the Home of Golf, tying for third place behind champion golfer Louis Oosthuizen.
Eventual: Finished the season by adding a tie for third at the US PGA Championship, helping Europe win the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and breaking into the world's top 10 for the first time, ranked a then career-high seventh at year's end.
Leading by four shots going into the final round, McIlroy's hopes of a first major victory collapsed on the back nine, a horrible sequence of holes from the Irishman started at the 10th with a hooked tee shot that careened off a tree even wider left between two cabins at Augusta National.
He fell into a tie for 15th place as Charl Schwartzel claimed the green jacket and claims it was the only time golf made him cry.
Immediate: Having dealt impressively with his post-round media obligations at Augusta, flew to the Far East and shot rounds of 69-64 on the way to third place at the Maybank Malaysian Open.
Eventual: Two months after his Masters nightmare and a week after having flown to Haiti on a UN humanitarian aid mission, McIlroy romps to victory at the US Open, becoming Europe's youngest major champion with a record-breaking eight-shot victory at Congressional Country Club.
Having started the season with victory at the Honda Classic in Florida that sends him to the top of the world rankings for the first time, McIlroy draws criticism for his approach to the game when he falls into a mid-season slump, placing 40th in the Masters and missing the cut at The Players, the BMW PGA Championship, the Memorial and in his US Open defence before finishing tied for 60th at The Open.
Immediate: Re-emerges at Firestone three weeks later a different golfer, claiming fifth place at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in Akron, Ohio.
Eventual: After Firestone, McIlroy wins the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by eight strokes to reclaim his No.1 ranking. Then wins two events in the FedEx Cup play-off series and tops the US money list before winning the DP World Tour Championship to top the European Tour's Race To Dubai rankings and earning player of the year awards on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the midst of his spectacular end to the season, McIlroy nearly ruined Europe's chances of retaining the Ryder Cup in Chicago. Already trailing the United States 10-6 after two days, Jose Maria Olazabal's side needed a miracle to overhaul the Americans over the final day singles. The last thing they needed as the 12 matches got under way was the absence of their highest ranked player. McIlroy had misread his tee time with Keegan Bradley, mixing up Eastern Time with Central Time.
Immediate: McIlroy needed a police escort to the course, making the usually 20-minute journey in nine, arriving on the practice putting green with minutes to spare, munching an energy bar. McIlroy's pre-round preparation amounted to two putting strokes. He beat Bradley 2&1.
Eventual: McIlroy's victory in the third match was one of five out of five for Europe at the start of the singles to wipe out the USA's lead. Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood brought Europe to the brink of victory before Martin Kaymer sank the winning putt, Olazabal's team winning the matches 14.5 to 13.5 to perform the Miracle at Medinah.
Already mired in poor form as he made swing adjustments in tandem with changing clubs from Titleist to Nike, McIlroy decides to walk away from Dublin management firm Horizon and form his own company to handle business and golf affairs.
Immediate: The story broke in May, was confirmed as McIlroy headed to Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship and he missed the cut for a second year in a row, shooting rounds of 75 and 74.
Eventual: The slump in form continued unabated. With the management split far from amicable and now awaiting settlement through the Dublin Commercial Court, McIlroy will have a date in court sometime this autumn or winter.
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