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Should we applaud or condemn Rory McIlroy’s attitude?

Published

6 years ago

on

As mentioned briefly in the Morning 9, Rory McIlroy spoke candidly about his pursuit of major glory.

Now 29 years old, McIlroy won the most recent of his four majors at the 2014 PGA Championship.

However, he seems at peace with his place in the game (and the world).

“Nothing is going to change in my life whether I win a major or not,” said McIlroy ahead of the Irish Open. “I’d be disappointed if I didn’t but I don’t panic. It doesn’t keep me up at night.”

“Look, if I didn’t win another major for the rest of my career, nothing is going to change in my life whether I win one or not, but obviously I don’t feel like I’ll have fulfilled my potential.”

Clearly, this is a healthy orientation with respect to one’s career, isn’t it? Have goals. Work toward them. But don’t let your career define you or dictate your happiness. That said, it’s a surprising admission from a top-tier professional athlete.

He continued in the same vein.

“But at the same time, you know, there’s other things in my life that are more important than golf….I’d be disappointed but again, it’s not going to change things. I don’t panic. It doesn’t keep me up at night.”

We assume too, that how much a player wants to win, thinks about winning, cares about winning dictates how much he does win (to a degree). We assume that anything resembling a blase attitude means a player isn’t practicing, isn’t leaving it all on the court.

But is this true? McIlroy seems to think that winning majors is all about putting yourself in position, and that’s what he aims to do.

“I’ve got two more chances this year to hopefully play myself into contention. That was my goal… to give myself a chance and to put myself in positions to see how I fare.”

That’s an attitude that is somewhat different than Tiger Woods’ historic, “I’m here to win,” orientation.

That said, you certainly can’t the man in the video below doesn’t have a killer instinct.

McIlroy’s formula for winning another major is interesting.

“You take way more risks when you’re a teenager… I just need to get back to playing the game like I was a teenager. Not be careful, not try to be too perfect. Not try to control things that you can’t control. Just go out and play your game..That’s the one thing that I need to do better and it’s more a mental thing rather than anything physical or anything. I just have to approach it better mentally.”

The approach above is probably pretty similar to how Rory plays the Ryder Cup–an event that obviously fires him up, where pins are more accessible and, because of formats, players are encouraged to take dead aim, as the worst-case scenario is merely losing a hole.

Plenty will drag the Ulsterman for his admissions, but ultimately, should we? Do we want our golfing superstars to be miserable unless they’re winning major championships? Is there some nobility and that orientation? Is there any reason to assume McIlroy is putting in less practice work and preparation than he was earlier in his career now that he’s a happily married man with a foundation and business interests?

Let us know what you think, GolfWRX members.

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19th Hole

Report: Tiger Woods voted against Rory McIlroy returning to policy board; Will be the only player negotiating directly with Saudis

Published

22 hours ago

on

May 9, 2024

By

According to a report from The Telegraph, the relationship between Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy has soured.

Last week, reports surfaced that McIlroy, who was a member of the PGA Tour policy board during most of the past few years, was looking to rejoin the board, presumably taking Webb Simpson’s seat.

However, on Wednesday, McIlroy revealed that he will not be rejoining the policy board, due to people on the board being “uncomfortable” with that “for some reason.”

The Telegraph has reported that Tiger Woods was among the players who voted against McIlroy returning to the policy board.

The divide is apparently due to McIlroy pushing for the game of golf to unify, whereas Woods, reportedly, believes the PGA Tour is in a fine position where it currently stands.

The Associated Press added another wrinkle to the situation, reporting that Woods is the only player who will be negotiating directly with the Saudis.

The other members of the committee are PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, board chairman Joe Gorder, John W. Henry of Fenway Sports Group, and Joe Ogilvie, who was a former PGA Tour player.

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19th Hole

Phil Mickelson reveals he won’t be pursuing broadcasting career when he retires from golf

Published

2 days ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

On Tuesday, Chris McKee, a Toronto writer and radio host, wondered aloud on his X account if Phil Mickelson will be a commentator after his playing days are over.

“The second Phil Mickelson retires he’ll instantly become the most sought after TV analyst in golf. Would any PGA Tour broadcaster (CBS, ESPN, NBC or Sky) bring him in or would he have to stick to LIV broadcasts? #LIVGolf”

Mickelson saw the post and responded, saying he’s not interested in moving from the course to the broadcast booth.

“Thank you for the kind words. However, just cuz someone CAN do something doesn’t mean they SHOULD do it. Instead of commentating, I’m going to shoot some Pros vs Schmos 9 hole matches. I’ll share insights throughout as well as talk a little smack. It won’t be the highest quality video but it’ll be fun for me to do and fun to watch I think too.”

While I believe many fans would like to see Phil in the booth, his idea of “Pro’s vs Schmo’s” could certainly be intriguing.

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19th Hole

PGA Tour pro sounds off on ‘unfair’ PGA Championship invites

Published

2 days ago

on

May 8, 2024

By

This week, the PGA of America made some surprising announcements regarding the field of next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla.

The event now will feature 16 LIV players with Talor Gooch, Dean Burmester, David Puig, Adrian Meronk and Patrick Reed receiving special exemptions.

PGA Tour player, Dylan Wu, took issue with how the exemptions were used and went to X to share his thoughts.

“Why is there never “real” qualifications for the PGA Championship? You have a points list and World ranking invite. Usually just outside top 100 in OWGR gets in. Chan Kim ranked 104th in OWGR doesn’t get in. SH Kim at 107th isn’t in.”

“Jesper Svennson ranked 108th gets in. Tim Widing 120th gets in. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald gets a spot. A bunch of guys get leapfrogged even though they’re ranked higher than others. Seems like they just invite whoever they want. Unfair to the guys on the edge like Chan and SH”

“Just seems like the world of professional golf is in a weird spot and I love that the tournament invited a handful of great LIV players but figure out a correct system for a major championship where guys know they’ll be in or not. ????”

Fans who replied to Wu seemed to agree that a more definitive ranking system for the PGA Championship should be established.

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