Winning the mind game a stroke of genius

WAS it a moment of everyday courtesy or a tactical calculation worthy of an experienced golfing mind twice his age?

Either way, the manner in which Rory McIlroy completed his third round at the US PGA Championship on Saturday night contrived to leave the 21-year-old Holywood golfer out of the final group yesterday at Whistling Straits and into the penultimate pairing.

Let us recap. McIlroy came down the 18th fairway on Saturday at 10 under and in a tie for second place with playing partner Dustin Johnson, four strokes behind leader Nick Watney, playing in the final group behind them.

With his third shot at the par-four last, McIlroy chopped his ball out of the rough and watched it roll to about a foot from the pin. Lovely. He gratefully took the applause from the gallery and strode towards his ball, appearing to make ready to tap in.

There then followed a brief exchange with Johnson as the American strode past McIlroy in the other direction and instead of holing out, the Irishman marked and then gathered up his ball and let his partners putt, Seung-yul Noh the other member of the threesome.

Now this had consequences. Johnson had a very makeable three-foot putt for par, meaning both he and McIlroy would likely end the day at 10 under, tied for second behind Watney. And whoever finished their round first would get to partner Watney in the final pairing on the last day.

Did McIlroy, perhaps, in those few seconds make that calculation, consider the additional pressure and scrutiny that attends the last group out in the final round of a major on a Sunday and decide to give himself a break?

Why not take the less pressured option and tee it up alongside China’s Wenchong Liang, the 32-year-old who stole Darren Clarke and Miguel Angel Jimenez’s Straits course record with a sparkling eight-under-par 64?

It makes perfect sense. There was already enough expectation heaped on McIlroy’s shoulders as he set out on his final round in search of a first major championship at age 21 years and 103 days, a day younger than Tiger Woods was when he changed golf with his 1997 Masters victory and a year and 44 days younger than Jack Nicklaus outduelled Arnold Palmer at Oakmont to win the 1962 US Open.

Far better to place some additional pressure back on Johnson, the big-hitter who bottled it at Pebble Beach in June and handed the US Open lead back to Graeme McDowell after just two holes of the final round..

And with that came the possibility that another Johnson meltdown might undermine Watney’s shot at glory.

All delicious scenarios, of course, and worthy of one of Conan Doyle’s fiendish plotlines revolving around the duel between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty.

Alternatively this may be giving McIlroy way too much credit in the mind games department and as he went through his pre-round routine on the practice range on Sunday he appeared more of a happy-go-lucky puppy than a mastermind “mwa-ha-ha-ing” to himself at his scheming.

“It feels great,” McIlroy said when asked about his situation heading into the final round. “It’s a position you really want to be on the last day of a major. I’m just going to go out and enjoy myself. I should have a chance if I go out and play like I have done. The breeze is great – it will make the difference between the good shots and bad shots even more.”

McIlroy had begun the weekrecounting some sage wordsof advice he had received from Darren Clarke during the 3 Irish Open. “Be patient, you muppet,” had been the lesson and on Sunday having completed his final round as McIlroy was setting out on his, Clarke was cautiously looking forward to the possibility of the muppet becoming a major winner.

“It would be fantastic to see Rory win,” Clarke said following his closing 73 that left him at one over. “Let’s hope that breeze doesn’t get up any more because it’s getting tough out there and that 18th is going to brutal.”

Unless, of course, McIlroy had already worked out a cunning plan for that as well.