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Rory McIlroy on his emotional return to World No. 1: ‘I’m enjoying the game as much as I ever have’

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 24 Oct 2022 05:33:03 +0000

By Evin Priest
Rory McIlroy’s climb back to the top of the golf world began with an empty stomach. Six months and three weeks prior to winning the CJ Cup on Sunday to take his place again as the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, the four-time major winner missed the cut at the Valero Texas Open in late March. That same Friday night, he also missed dinner. The tournament hotel was so busy McIlroy decided it was easier to skip food than wait hours for it.

“I guess there was some party on Friday night [in the hotel], and I was feeling pretty bad,” McIlroy recalled on Sunday at Congaree Golf Club. “I went to order room service and they said it would be a two-and-a-half-hour wait. I missed the cut and went to bed on an empty stomach, and I was like, let’s just wake up tomorrow and start again.”

Ninth on the Official World Golf Ranking at the time — before the OWGR became the point of contention it is these days — McIlroy’s fasting session prompted a mid-year rebuild that culminated in Ridgeland, South Carolina, with the 34-year-old Northern Irishman winning his 31st professional tournament, his 23rd career PGA Tour title and his third of 2022. A final-round 67 included four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine that allowed McIlroy to bogey the final two holes and still win by one over Kurt Kitayama with a 17-under 267 total. And it put him back as the best player in the world for the first time since July 2020.

McIlroy could not have imagined the highs and lows that have transpired since his early exit from TPC San Antonio. A week after Valero, McIlroy holed a 72nd-hole bunker shot at Augusta National for a 64 and a career-best second place at the Masters. He finished eighth at the PGA Championship in May, won the RBC Canadian Open and then tied fifth at the US Open in June. In July, McIlroy surrendered a 54-hole lead at the Open at St Andrews, where he finished third, before bouncing back to win the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup in August.

Can’t ask for a better start to the season than this. Extremely proud of the work that I have put in to get back to World No. 1. So grateful for the support of my team and fans all over the world. @congareegolf is an incredible place and the fans this week were amazing. pic.twitter.com/LHK9PfQdSa

— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) October 24, 2022

“If someone had told me [that] Friday night at Valero that I would be World No. 1 by October, I would have asked them what they were smoking because I would not have believed them,” McIlroy said. “It’s been a wild six months.”

Those six months haven’t only been wild on the course. The emergence of LIV Golf has created a bitter divide in men’s professional golf with the rival circuit taking a host of PGA Tour stars including World No. 3 and Open Championship winner Cameron Smith. Through it all, McIlroy has almost looked comfortable in the chaos of being the PGA Tour’s torchbearer, inside and outside the ropes.

All three of his victories this year have been timely in the feud with LIV; on the same June weekend that LIV kicked off its inaugural event in England, McIlroy shot 62 to defeat Justin Thomas in Canada. In late August, with rumours swirling that a raft of PGA Tour players were about to sign with LIV, McIlroy won his third FedEx Cup title at East Lake and declared the PGA Tour “the best place to play golf”. This week, McIlroy ensured that he will be spoken and written about as World No. 1 while LIV prepares to host its season finale at Trump Doral outside Miami.

“All three wins I’ve had to go out there and win them,” McIlroy said. “I went out with a lead today and shot four-under to win. I think that’s been the most satisfying thing. In all three wins I went out there and got the job done.”

It’s not just the wins, but the other finishes, too. In his 15 starts since Valero, he has 12 top-10s, 10 top-fives and one lone (and now truly bizarre) missed cut.

Although McIlroy drew a line in the sand after San Antonio, the real reset began after an unsuccessful and emotional performance at the Ryder Cup in September 2021. McIlroy choked back tears after defeating Xander Schauffele in singles for his only point for Europe at Whistling Straits. He also dropped to 16th in the world. Weeks later, McIlroy won the 2021 CJ Cup in Las Vegas to kick off his renaissance.

A year later, the full-circle moment of defending his CJ title was why McIlroy was so emotional on the 18th green on Sunday at Congaree.

“I’ve worked so hard over the last 12 months to get myself back to this place. This tournament last year was start of me building myself back up to this point,” said McIlroy, who started the day with a one-shot advantage on Kitayama, Jon Rahm and KH Lee and closed out his 10th win in 17 tries when leading after 54 holes. “I had a really rough Ryder Cup. I was outside top 10 in the world and it’s not a position I’m used to being in.”

Rory McIlroy smiles after winning the 2012 Honda Classic and jumping to World No. 1 for the first time in his career. Mike Ehrmann

This is now the ninth time that McIlroy sits atop the World Ranking, a milestone he first achieved after winning the Honda Classic in 2012. McIlroy will enjoy his 107th total week as World No. 1, which brings him closer to Dustin Johnson, who sits in third for longest serving No. 1s with 135 weeks. Greg Norman, the two time Open champion turned LIV Golf CEO, is second (331) behind all-time leader Tiger Woods (683).

So what’s different about this trip back to the top of the golf world? McIlroy says it’s the team around him. He admitted earlier this week his maiden stint at No. 1 felt like an anti-climax. Now he has people to share the success with. His wife Erica, daughter Poppy, caddie Harry Diamond, long-time coach Michael Bannon, agent Sean O’ Flaherty, putting coach Brad Faxon and mental coach Dr Bob Rotella. McIlroy named all of them in his winning press conference Sunday night.

“The steady climb back to the summit of world golf and what it takes. It’s not a solo effort and I think about everyone that has made a difference in my life,” he said. “There are a lot of people that deserve all the plaudits. When I think about that, that’s what gets me choked up and emotional. It’s really cool to be on this journey with other people that you want to be on the journey with.”

There is still one more tournament for McIlroy in 2022; he’ll travel to Dubai next month for the DP World Tour’s season finale, where he’ll try to win another season-long points title. After that, though, he won’t play an official PGA Tour event until the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January. At that point, the questions will no doubt start circling over whether McIlroy can deliver a long-awaited fifth major championship in 2023.

But for right now, McIlroy is going to celebrate and avoid thinking about majors. He’s just having fun.

“I feel like I’m enjoying the game as much as I ever have.”

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A stunned Rory McIlroy watches spectator take a club from his bag, pretend to hit tee shot

Golf Digest Middle East — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 00:27:56 +0000

By John Huggan
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — The second day of the 2021 Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club is destined to be one Rory McIlroy will long remember. Not because the four-time major champion played particularly well. And not because he will be harbouring hopes of adding to his list of 14 European Tour victories. After shooting 71 to sit one under par for 36 holes, McIlroy is more than likely to miss the cut.

Disappointing as that surely is, what will likely stick in McIlroy’s mind is what occurred as he stood on the 10th tee (his first of the day) alongside caddie Harry Diamond and playing partner Jon Rahm. As the trio chatted, a man appeared out of the gallery, grabbed the headcover off McIlroy’s driver and took one of his irons out of the bag. He then proceeded to make a couple of practice swings. All of which provoked a classic double-take from McIlroy and bemused looks from all concerned before a pair of security guards moved in to remove the intruder.

You touch Rory’s clubs like that you should be hit by a sniper instantly. Disappointing. https://t.co/BQwwkKy8En

— Riggs (@RiggsBarstool) July 9, 2021

The incident was recorded by at least a couple of spectators and soon went viral on Twitter. Local man, David Wilson, who posted a video of what happened, described the interloper as “some random.”

“He was quickly dealt with,” Wilson said. “The players laughed it off, saying they knew he wasn’t a golfer when they saw his grip.”

Another onlooker told The Scotsman newspaper: “He appeared on the tee, took the headcover off Rory’s driver in the bag then took out an iron and had a couple of swings with it. When someone told him that he couldn’t do that, he replied by saying ‘Why not?’ At that point, the security people assigned to following the group moved in and took him away.”

Perhaps not surprisingly, McIlroy had little to add at the end of a frustrating round marked by what has recently become the norm. Fairways were being missed, birdie chances were being spurned and short putts for par were sliding by.

“You all saw it on TV,” said McIlroy, as he packed his golf bag. “So you know what happened. I was surprised. But it was handled efficiently, and everything was OK. I had no idea who it was. Yes, there is a serious aspect to something like that. But it was handled well.”

Rahm, leading the tournament on 11 under par after adding a 65 to his opening 66, was more forthcoming.

“Let me put it this way: You could smell the reason why he did what he did,” said the World No. 1. “He was clearly not sober. I’m going to say it was vodka. I’m no expert, but he had a long night for sure. He probably thought it was a fun idea. And, to be fair, it was quite funny. At one point I thought he was going to Happy Gilmore the headcover. I don’t think it put Rory off. He hit maybe his best drive of the tournament off that tee. He started playing beautifully. If anything it put a smile on our faces. It’s a pretty good story to tell in the future.”

Still, as McIlroy alluded to, there could have been a more sinister aspect to such an egregious breach of security. But Rahm was quick to quell such a notion.

“Security was good,” he said. “But these things can happen. The guy had good timing. He walked in very confidently. We were all thinking, ‘Maybe he is supposed to be doing this.’ We didn’t know. We thought he was from television or a magazine and was going to take a picture. Then we realized that was not the case when he started to tee-off with the head-cover. But, for the most part, Rory and I both thought it was a prank or someone who was supposed to be there. We didn’t say anything. He was carrying a 6-iron. I didn’t want to get hurt.”

In response to what went on, the European Tour issued a short statement:

“At approximately 8 a.m. on Friday morning, a spectator entered the 10th tee area,” said a spokesperson. “He was quickly escorted from the tee by security personnel and the matter is now in the hands of Police Scotland.”

And in turn, “officers were alerted to a man causing a disturbance within the grounds of the Renaissance Club in East Lothian, around 8am on Friday July 9,” said Police Scotland. “The 35-year-old man has been taken to the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh and enquiries are ongoing.”

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