Rory feels benefit of time spent in Haiti

WHEN one of your texting buddies is LeBron James and you decide to nip down to Haiti for UNICEF a week before a major championship it might be easy to conclude that focus may be an issue for Rory McIlroy ahead of his third US Open.

“The kid goes to Haiti the week of the US Open? He is either out of his mind or he is a great kid and I think I know which one he is,” Irish golfer turned US TV commentator David Feherty said earlier this week — and most observers are also inclined to settle on the latter.

As for the kid himself, McIlroy was happy to discuss Haiti, LeBron and the US Open during his pre-tournament press conference at Congressional Country Club, as well as addressing his final-round 81 at the Masters in April, when he blew the lead he had held for 63 holes with a triple-bogey seven at the 10th.

“You just move on; that’s all you can do,” McIlroy said. “It’s not the end of the world. You analyse it, you pick things from it what you think you could have done better. And when you get yourself into that position again you try and put those things that you want to do better into practice.”

Embarking on a trip to earthquake-hit Haiti in his role as an ambassador for UNICEF can also help to rationalise a bad day on the golf course, however high the stakes.

“I thought I had perspective before going to Haiti, and then actually seeing it, it just gives you a completely different view on the world and the game that you play. It just makes you feel so lucky that I’m able just to sit here and drink a bottle of water, just the normal things that everyone does that you take for granted.

“Haiti was a great experience for me and it was great to go down with UNICEF and see all the work that they’re doing with funding and helping build schools and maternity clinics and providing food and water for people down there. It’s still a country in a very bad state, but it’s definitely going in the right direction. It’s great to see.”

McIlroy, too is heading down the right road as he prepares to tee off in his first round at 6.35pm (Irish time) in a marquee group alongside Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson.

“The way it’s set up at the minute is a little more scorable than the previous two US Opens that I’ve played,” added McIlroy.

“I think you can see yourself shooting something in the 60s out here. I don’t know if you’ll be able to do that every day. I reckon a little under par might win this week.

“I feel as if my preparation has been really good. I feel as if I’m coming into this tournament playing well, after a decent (fifth place) finish at the Memorial. I was happy with a lot of parts of my game there, so I’m coming into this pretty positive.”