Rory McIlroy on bouncing back and dealing with the attention

"If I wasn't getting stopped and wasn't on TV all the time, I wouldn't be very good at my job."

BOUNCING BACK: Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy during a press conference ahead of The Open at Royal Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland.

There’s something about Rory. It can’t just be the talent, or the drought, or the willingness to speak his mind. It’s something else, something less tangible. It has to be. Whatever it is, it draws people in. If golf remains the planet, then McIlroy is a moon with its own gravitational pull.

Six other players have sat down for setpiece press conferences over the first two days here in Ayrshire and four of them have fielded questions directly relating to the Northern Irishman and the stomach-punch that was his US Open experience last month.