McIlroy: Woods is inspirational

Rory McIlroy will face up to Tiger Woods this week and put his faith in the fearlessness of youth.

At 20, McIlroy does not carry the scars of so many mauled by Woods.

He has not been down the stretch in an epic battle with Tiger and lost like Sergio Garcia in 1999 at the USPGA at Medinah or been trounced like the entire field when Woods won by eight at St Andrews in 2000 and by 12 in his first US Masters as a professional back in 1997.

Instead, McIlroy, the boy from Hollywood, Northern Ireland, comes to Turnberry in the UK for his first Open as a professional intending to tap into the inspiration he has derived from watching Woods winning 14 major titles.

McIlroy said: “I remember when I first talked to Tiger I was nervous. He has some sort of aura about him. He’s just an incredible competitor.

“He hits shots that I wouldn’t be able to hit sometimes. He’s not won 14 majors for nothing and I’m sure he’ll win a few more before his career is over.

“But I’ve enjoyed watching him win his majors. I haven’t had to deal with losing to him a lot or anything like that so it’s been more inspirational for me rather than disheartening that this guy is coming to win every major he plays.”

Just how good is McIlroy, who currently stands at number 22 in the world rankings and starts his Open in the company of Anthony Kim of the United States and South Africa’s Retief Goosen tomorrow afternoon?

Put it this way, he holds the course record of 61 at Royal Portrush, achieved when he was 15.

It proves nothing, although McIlroy remembers the round well, maintaining: “That was the best round of golf I’ve ever played.”

Such low scoring is out of the question at Turnberry, whose thick rough and trying conditions demand precision driving and meticulous iron play.

For McIlroy, who finished 20th in this year’s US Masters and 10th in the US Open, the key is patience.

“I’ve proved to myself that I do have the game to get around major championships,” he said. “It’s about staying patient. If you make a couple of bogeys not trying to chase it and trying to get back to level par because 72 holes is a lot of golf and anything can happen.

“I’ve just realised that I’ve got the game to do well in major championships and that as long as I stay patient and don’t get ahead of myself I know my game can stand up to the hardest test in golf.”

But could he handle the sort of pressure which saw Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson come up the Turnberry stretch locked together in the famous ’Duel in the Sun’ of 1977, the details of which – Watson shooting 65, Nicklaus 66 – are illustrated on the walls of the clubhouse here?

McIlroy, who played the Open as an amateur in 2007, finishing tied for 42nd place, has been soaking up the story all week and intends to watch the tape, although if things go to plan this week he might have a better indication of what such a duel entails.

He admits, however, that indulging in ambitious dreams and keeping tabs on reality is a delicate balance.

McIlroy said: “I sometimes say to myself this is only your second Open championship. You’ll have 20 or 30 more of these. There’s no point trying to rush into things.

“But there’s also a part of me that says: ’You know you’ve got the game to do well here.’ It’s a balance between having the right expectations and trying to fulfil those. It’s hard because walking up the 18th you catch yourself thinking ’Oh, what if this happens or that happens, how good would it be to win the Open’.

“It’s something you’ve got to deal with. I’m getting better and better at it every week.”

Intelligent. Polite. Seemingly untainted by his rapid rise, McIlroy’s hold on reality belies his tender years. For him, nothing has really changed.

“I still like to go out with my friends in Belfast or wherever it is,” he said. “I do get recognised. It’s something you just get used to. But I don’t feel as if I’m any sort of superstar. I’m just trying to play golf well.”

And, of course, without fear.