I first heard of Rory when he was 16 and was playing in European tour events and making cuts. A curly haired, freckled face kid. Looking more like Howdy Doody than an athletic icon, McIlroy has grown and matured into a world beater. I followed Rory around the back nine at Quail Hollow as he shot 62 to win the Wachovia Championship going away. As he faced a 40 footer on 18 with a couple of shot lead, he took no time and knocked it in like it was a five footer in a practice round. I saw the same look in his eyes this week as he destroyed the best of what the golf world has to offer by eight shots….and he left a few out there which is scary. As we watch these twenty something golfers come up through the ranks, Rory is by far the most talented and seems to be able to handle the pressure of Championship golf. As a coach, it is interesting to see how everyone marvels at the swing or technique of the hottest players going. Just like in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, we all wanted to swing like Tiger and I guarantee we loved to compare our students to Mr. Woods swing because he was playing better than anyone in the world for a unbelieveable extended time. (now he has changed it 3 times?) Would you have taught your students to swing like Jim Furyk if he would have been so dominant? hmmm? Well? So now we all want Rorys swing and what is not to like? He has great basics, athleticism, hits all the right positions, flow and power. But this is the same guy that missed several cuts in the past at big events and collapsed at this past April’s Masters, right. So I think aside from his wonderful golfing motion, first class short game and putting…It is the mental maturity and attitude that allowed him to stay out of his own way throughout the U.S. Open and win going away. I love the press conferences and learn so much about a player by listening close to what they say and how they say it. Rory mentioned (and was asked many times so he had no choice) about Tiger Woods. He said he thought a lot about what Tiger would do (2000 Open) which helped him keep his fire even when he had a big lead. This was very apparent when he got so upset after making a bogey on the 17th even though he had a huge lead but that is how you have to play in that situation. Tiger’s goal in the 2000 Open was to go bogey free even though he had a huge lead. He played a tournament against himself, set mini 3 hole goals which is what Rory did and it helped keep him in the moment up till the last putt. So we will see how this plays out as one major is just a start a legendary career. A lot of great players have won only a single major. So lets not start comparing this young phenom to Tiger or Jack until we see some consistency over a long period of time as golf is a very fickle game and can come and go as you all know. Let Rory enjoy his unbelievable performance and be a young man who I already admire so much, not as much by his golf game but they way he has handled failure and now how he will handle success. His dad should be very proud of the man that he has become. Wise beyond his years for sure.
I am sure that I was not alone as I stood in my man room and chanted,”Let’s Go Rory” as he simply was spectacular for 4 rounds in our major championship. The U.S. players need to take notice. Who is going to step up and stop him? Only time will tell. I am so fortunate to have been able to watch Jack Nicklaus at the end of his run, Tiger Woods in his prime and now Rory McIlroy starting his.
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See you on the lesson tee,
Jason
The Golf Guru Show 