IF YOU HAVE just woken from a Marathon snooze to find that Rory McIlroy has won another Major then you may not be very surprised to see the news.
McIlroy again took himself into a 54-hole lead to tee off last going into the year’s final Major.
He’s converted that starting position into victory before. That’s exactly why the Co. Down man must have been feeling a different form of pressure before the clouds cleared and he teed off at the first yesterday – expectation.
Jeff Roberson
Jeff Roberson
Yes, he’s dealt with it his whole life, but after winning two tournaments on the trot and re-taking the World Number 1 position, this was the real deal. This time he had no big lead to cushion him from the chasing pack, and the chasing pack were vicious.
2. Starting slowly, weathering storm
Among the many challenges presented to McIlroy yesterday, was the two-hour delay caused by torrential rain. The leader’s tee time meant that his preparation rather than his round was disrupted, but all of his new found patience and maturity was called for during an 18-hole slog.
His bogey at the third hole made him the only leading player above par for the day. And with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler fist-bumping their way into the lead McIlroy’s doubters could have expected him to be swallowed up.
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However, the early momentum generated by the American pairing slowly began to fade. And, they must have (literally) looked over their shoulder thinking ‘he’s still right there’ after what could have been a killer couple of holes for lesser men. When he had to be patient, he was, and the slightest opening arrived (as it did on his second shot at the 10th) he took it.
That is a big development in McIlroy’s game. We all know he can run away with victories by his sheer abundance of talent. This was his time to show off that steely determination and ensure that Sunday at Augusta in 2011 is merely a footnote in history rather than a round to define his career.
3. A new role
With a new style came a new skin for McIlroy to inhabit. During his career to date (a few hecklers aside) he will have grown accustomed to being the young upstart that crowds love to watch. Last night, he became the bogeyman; the irresistible force that home favourites ‘Phil and Ricky’ were bravely attempting to defy.
Jeff Roberson
Jeff Roberson
He didn’t shirk at playing the bad guy. He revelled in chasing this as an ‘away win’. He might even have called it a smash and grab, but on the 18th green he instead said: “I just wanted to win this thing and get out of here.” Are we sure he was joking?
4. The waiting, the watching
Rhythm can be everything in golf. When you see a golfer run, you know he’s in the middle of something special and they are desperate to put as little time between strokes as possible. McIlroy had no room for rhythm. His round was a traffic jam of swing-wait-putt-wait-wait-swing.
The situation was bad enough with the Northern Irishman standing in the middle of the fairway watching down on Mickelson drain a long putt to save par. But that had nothing on the ridiculous scene of Fowler doubling back off the 16th tee and passing McIlroy on the 15th in order to take a long way around the creek to follow his wayward tee shot.
Jeff Roberson
Jeff Roberson
That is where McIlroy’s mental keywords come in – ‘process’ and ‘focus’ – many golfers might have grown anxious at the disruption to the natural rhythm, but the majority of the time a camera found McIlroy he was calmly leaning on a club, the focus instantly flicking back on once he moved to address the ball.
5. Adopting the dark
As he shook his fist and celebrated his fourth Major, the camera flashes acted like a strobe light. Modern TV cameras do an excellent job of extracting all available light, but on the unfiltered view it became clear that visibility was fast fading in Valhalla.
His nerveless birdie on the 17th gave him a decent cushion as walked hot on the heels of Mickelson and Fowler to the 18th tee. Perhaps the distraction of playing the shot while his nearest rivals were still strolling along the side forced him into the error. And he skirted disaster on the slope towards the hazard, and again on his recovery shot.
Yet still he didn’t panic.
With limited light he reigned in his bunker shot, careful not to force matters and instead trust his putter. Two putts to win a Major is what every golfer hopes for, but little else that McIlroy faced last night could have been planned for.
5 reasons why victory at Valhalla was McIlroy's most impressive Major
1. Pressure
IF YOU HAVE just woken from a Marathon snooze to find that Rory McIlroy has won another Major then you may not be very surprised to see the news.
McIlroy again took himself into a 54-hole lead to tee off last going into the year’s final Major.
He’s converted that starting position into victory before. That’s exactly why the Co. Down man must have been feeling a different form of pressure before the clouds cleared and he teed off at the first yesterday – expectation.
Yes, he’s dealt with it his whole life, but after winning two tournaments on the trot and re-taking the World Number 1 position, this was the real deal. This time he had no big lead to cushion him from the chasing pack, and the chasing pack were vicious.
2. Starting slowly, weathering storm
Among the many challenges presented to McIlroy yesterday, was the two-hour delay caused by torrential rain. The leader’s tee time meant that his preparation rather than his round was disrupted, but all of his new found patience and maturity was called for during an 18-hole slog.
His bogey at the third hole made him the only leading player above par for the day. And with Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler fist-bumping their way into the lead McIlroy’s doubters could have expected him to be swallowed up.
However, the early momentum generated by the American pairing slowly began to fade. And, they must have (literally) looked over their shoulder thinking ‘he’s still right there’ after what could have been a killer couple of holes for lesser men. When he had to be patient, he was, and the slightest opening arrived (as it did on his second shot at the 10th) he took it.
That is a big development in McIlroy’s game. We all know he can run away with victories by his sheer abundance of talent. This was his time to show off that steely determination and ensure that Sunday at Augusta in 2011 is merely a footnote in history rather than a round to define his career.
3. A new role
With a new style came a new skin for McIlroy to inhabit. During his career to date (a few hecklers aside) he will have grown accustomed to being the young upstart that crowds love to watch. Last night, he became the bogeyman; the irresistible force that home favourites ‘Phil and Ricky’ were bravely attempting to defy.
He didn’t shirk at playing the bad guy. He revelled in chasing this as an ‘away win’. He might even have called it a smash and grab, but on the 18th green he instead said: “I just wanted to win this thing and get out of here.” Are we sure he was joking?
4. The waiting, the watching
Rhythm can be everything in golf. When you see a golfer run, you know he’s in the middle of something special and they are desperate to put as little time between strokes as possible. McIlroy had no room for rhythm. His round was a traffic jam of swing-wait-putt-wait-wait-swing.
The situation was bad enough with the Northern Irishman standing in the middle of the fairway watching down on Mickelson drain a long putt to save par. But that had nothing on the ridiculous scene of Fowler doubling back off the 16th tee and passing McIlroy on the 15th in order to take a long way around the creek to follow his wayward tee shot.
That is where McIlroy’s mental keywords come in – ‘process’ and ‘focus’ – many golfers might have grown anxious at the disruption to the natural rhythm, but the majority of the time a camera found McIlroy he was calmly leaning on a club, the focus instantly flicking back on once he moved to address the ball.
5. Adopting the dark
As he shook his fist and celebrated his fourth Major, the camera flashes acted like a strobe light. Modern TV cameras do an excellent job of extracting all available light, but on the unfiltered view it became clear that visibility was fast fading in Valhalla.
Another bump in the road.
His nerveless birdie on the 17th gave him a decent cushion as walked hot on the heels of Mickelson and Fowler to the 18th tee. Perhaps the distraction of playing the shot while his nearest rivals were still strolling along the side forced him into the error. And he skirted disaster on the slope towards the hazard, and again on his recovery shot.
Yet still he didn’t panic.
With limited light he reigned in his bunker shot, careful not to force matters and instead trust his putter. Two putts to win a Major is what every golfer hopes for, but little else that McIlroy faced last night could have been planned for.
‘I wanted to get it done and get out of here’ — Rory McIlroy wins PGA championship in the dark
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dancing in the dark PGa Championship Rory McIlroy USPGA