SecondEvidence of Rory McIlroy’s lofty status may come when you least expect it. Ask him, for example, if anyone out of the ordinary contacted him after his traumatic end to the U.S. Open. McIlroy did not disappoint.
“Rafa Nadal and Michael Jordan,” he said. “Two of the most incredible rivals in the history of the game. MJ was probably the first person to text me after I missed the putt on 18, but they both connected very, very quickly.
“They just told me to keep going. Jordan reminded me of how many game-winning shots he missed. It was pretty good.
So when McIlroy lost his third major of the year to Bryson DeChambeau, both Nadal and Jordan could be counted among those watching through their fingers. McIlroy had three bogeys in his final four holes at Pinehurst. A fifth Grand Slam title, and first since 2014, is within reach. His performance took a turn for the worse in a situation that many feared would define this part of his career.
McIlroy begged to differ, his tone decidedly optimistic. “Is this a great opportunity to win a Grand Slam? Absolutely,” he said. “It hurt, it was a difficult, scary moment.
“I would say people would be surprised how quickly I got over it and moved on.” He recalled “what I needed to see” in the TV coverage. This means good and bad.
That doesn’t mean the 35-year-old commentator denies the right to assess what happened. When DeChambeau lurked, the dogs on the street thought McIlroy should have done something different. He had long since become accustomed to ignoring noise. “I can’t,” he said. “I can’t focus on this.
“Maybe one of my shortcomings is that I don’t speak. [to media] After that you have three weeks of guessing. “He should have done it, should have done it, but we’ll never know because he didn’t say it.”
“I trust the people around me. I don’t need to go to outside consultants. If the tournament ends after 68 holes, people will call me the best golfer in the world.
This is a sport with a very low winning rate. “You have to be an eternal optimist,” McIlroy said. “Let’s say you play 25 games a year and win three of them. You’re one of the best players ever. We lose a lot more than we win.
“Yes, I’m in a good position to win and should win, but this isn’t the first time I’ve let something slip away. It probably won’t be the last. You have to look at it from a continuum perspective. It’s very Tough, but it’s a game.
“I play 23-25 games a year. You have to keep moving forward. The great thing about this game is that you have the opportunity to get back up right after a bad loss. You try to learn from it and do better next time.
McIlroy pointed to process as one of the foundations of the problem. It’s a boring theory, but a prominent one. “I’m very aware of what’s going on behind me,” he said. A discussion with Bob Rotella, who studies McIlroy’s mentality, raised another question. “My pre-shot routine is a little long, but not just that week,” McIlroy said. “I’ve been feeling this way for a while. You see it before the U.S. Open. In Canada or Quail Hollow, I start to pay more attention.
“I’ve been working a lot on my pre-bat drills since I started training again. It’s nice to be able to do something so simple, but it makes your practice so purposeful because you have to be there every time. Reset after a ball.
“I walked the High Line in Manhattan on Tuesday and talked to Rotella for about an hour. We talked a lot about these things, about day-to-day things. We talked about Pinehurst, and the positives there far outweigh the negatives. , but the negatives are also pretty big and you have to learn from them.
The Northern Irishman has had his share of close calls in recent majors. The 2021 and 2023 U.S. Opens. .
“St. Andrews has suffered much more than this,” he said. “Oh my God. I didn’t cry after hearing that. But why? “This is St. Andrews. This is an open competition. 10 and 3 shots ahead…this is the 150th shot. The crowd support I got there was unreal.
McIlroy has seen nothing; he will have a huge boost at Royal Troon starting on Thursday, thanks in part to support from Pinehurst. What he won’t do is use the U.S. Open as a psychological boost. “No. It’s gone. I know I played well. I know with the shape of my game, if I go out there and do my thing, then I hope to have a chance at Troon.
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McIlroy was heartened that he was in such a strong position to start the U.S. Open. For a player with such jaw-dropping talent, moments like this have been rare since 2014. “I just took the initiative,” he said. “I’m less hesitant and playing with more freedom. I’m more confident, not passive.
“At this point, I’d rather try to win and fail than try not to fail and fail. In the past few years, I haven’t been that confident in the biggest competitions.
McIlroy covered his eyes as he recalled his unforgettable pre-match press conference at this Ayrshire venue eight years ago. “Olympic…” There’s a second part: McIlroy said he could take human growth hormone without detection, citing the lack of blood testing for banned substances in golf. “You still can,” he said. “I haven’t…had a blood test done, I can’t remember the last time it was done. It’s expensive, but…yeah.
One of McIlroy’s many endearing qualities is his willingness to admit mistakes. After being heavily criticized and sitting out the 2016 Olympics, he’s relishing the chance to compete as an Irish player in 2021. The choice of representing them or Britain weighed unnecessarily but heavily on his mind.
“I have a sense of resentment towards the Olympics because I’ve been trying to stay neutral and it gave me this choice: What would you do? I’ve got to get over that. I spent all my amateur career playing for Ireland. I’m very proud to play for Ireland, so why would I do anything differently as a professional?
“Tokyo feels like going back to the amateur days. All the federations are there. Seeing people in amateur competitions that I haven’t seen in decades. I really enjoyed the experience and I’m sure Paris will be better because I There are other activities available.
“It’s a bit like the Ryder Cup, I commented before I experienced it. I’m excited to go back.
The glory of the Olympics is obviously incomparable with the Grand Slam championship. Golf returned to the Olympics in 2016 after being on hiatus since 1904. “As an individual, winning the gold medal is very special for me,” he said. “From a broader perspective, how will people view me and what impact will that have on my legacy or career? I don’t know. If I could win any medals in Paris I would be extremely proud. One The gold medal will be one of the proudest moments of my career.
Pinehurst certainly sparked something of a mindset change. “I actually said that to my team a few days later,” he said. “I’ve always said I shouldn’t get anything out of golf, but after St. Andrews, Los Angeles Country Club, Pinehurst, I finally got to the point where I felt like I deserved something.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to get it. I always feel like if you say you deserve something, it smacks of entitlement. No one is entitled to anything in the game or in life in general. You have to Win it all. But I feel like I’m in a good position to win it.
There could be no more favorable outcome. A sports accident helped McIlroy win more hearts.
