‘I’ve proved to myself that I have the game for the majors’
This was Rory McIlroy’s response yesterday to suggestions his background in amateur golf in Ireland make him a serious contender for victory in the Open Championship beginning over the great links of Turnberry this morning.
Once again, the 20-year-old from Holywood man displayed wisdom beyond his years in dealing with the world’s media. If he uses his golf clubs to the same effect as he handled each and every question thrown at him, he will certainly be amongst those leading the charge for the claret jug as the championship heads down the final stretch on Sunday.
Accepting that he didn’t play as well as hoped in last week’s Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond, McIlroy stressed that: “I’m coming into the event with a little bit of form. It’s got better every day this week and I had a good session on the range Tuesday night with my coach Michael Bannon. I’m hitting the ball really well. I’m hoping to keep it out of the rough, if I can shoot somewhere around 70 every day that will be good.”
McIlroy is joint 7th favourite (30/1) to follow in Pádraig Harrington’s footsteps on Sunday, an indication of the huge impression he has made in the pro ranks and especially in the majors after claiming 20th at the Masters and 10th in the US Open.
“I’ve been very pleased with my progress and proved to myself that I have the game to get around in major championships,” he reasoned.
“The thing is that you have to stay very, very patient and know that you are going to make bogeys and make mistakes because the course set-ups are so tough.
“But then again, you know that if you’re playing well enough you will have a lot of chances for birdies. So if you make a couple of bogeys, don’t go chasing it and instead try to get back to level par. 72 holes is a lot of golf and anything can happen.
“Patience is the key this week”.
Reducing pressure and expectation has become an integral part of every sportsman’s life and McIlroy portrays the image of somebody well practiced in the art.
“There’s no point in trying to rush into things but there’s also a part of me that says, ‘well, you know you’ve got the game to do well here’,” he said.
“It is a balance between having the right expectations and trying to fulfil those. It is hard. You catch yourself walking up the 18th and thinking about ‘oh, what if this happens or that happens’.
“It’s something you have to deal with and I’m getting better”.
McIlroy is in one of the marquee matches on the opening two days at Turnberry alongside American Ryder Cup player Anthony Kim and South African Retief Goosen, two-time winner of the US Open.
The threesome fits nicely into place for McIlroy who explained: “I played the first two rounds of the Masters with Anthony and then the first three rounds of the US Open. So I’ve got to know him. I really enjoy Anthony’s company. And we’ll probably be chatting a lot because Goosen doesn’t like to talk too much”.
He says all of this in a matter of fact, relaxed manner without a hint of either boastfulness or false modesty. Nor does he think his remarkable natural gift for playing the game of golf entitles him to anything and points out the underachieving Spaniard Sergio Garcia as an example of what he means.
“It’s very difficult to win golf tournaments, let alone major championships”, he stressed. “You just have to look at Sergio. He is one of the best if not the best ball strikers I have ever seen and he is still to win a major. But I think once he wins one, it will open the gate for him and he’ll go on to win a lot more.
“Even if you get yourself into a position to win, it’s very hard to close it out because it is a major championship. I haven’t been in that position but I’m sure it’s very hard not to let things get into your head coming down the stretch.
“I don’t know what’s going to make me a winner. I wish I could tell you.
“One day hopefully I’ll be able to do just that”.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
