Rory's Glory (5 page)

Rory also revealed that he had received a very generous, heart warming and inspiring phone call from Greg Norman. The Australian suffered a fate similar to Rory when he lost a huge final round lead to Nick Faldo.

Having not played competitively since the Cadillac event almost three weeks before, the comments about his lengthy breaks were doing the rounds again from fellow pros. One player to offer his opinion on the matter was none other than Lee Westwood.

When asked what he thought about Rory going into the Masters after a three week break, he said: ‘I'd much rather be going into the Masters having not played for three days competitively than for three weeks.'

Granted it is an unusually long period for a golfer to take off before a major. Using the British Open as an example, most professionals will play the Scottish Open or a US Tour event the week before, or even practise a few rounds on a links in the UK or Ireland.

McIlroy countered this argument by saying that if you look at his record between breaks then you will see a pattern emerge. Before the break he was playing for many weeks and after returning, he would be a far fresher player and would get better by the round.

Just as the session was about to end, his phone rang out its ring tone. Rory quickly silenced it and said, ‘Oops, no phone calls [mobile phones] at Augusta!' A member of Augusta sitting next to him replied, ‘We'll just pretend we didn't hear it.'

At 1.42 pm on Thursday, Rory teed off in the company of Bubba Watson and one Angel Cabrera. Now if Rory was trying to banish all thoughts of events the previous year, then Cabrera was not the man to have beside him.

The big Argentine, who could easily fit two Rorys into his bulky frame, was the man who was birdying holes as if shelling peas during Rory's meltdown. But McIlroy steadied the ship in this first round and without doing anything spectacular finished one under, at 71.

That left him just inside the top 20 and four shots adrift of overnight leader Lee Westwood. The next day McIlroy outshone both of his huge hitting partners to post a -3, 69, and climb to a shot behind joint leaders Fred Couples and Jason Duffner. Then disaster struck.

Paired with Sergio Garcia in the penultimate round, they both had a day to forget. Rory had three sixes in his first nine holes for a score of 42. Garcia shot 40. Things improved a little turning for home but not by much. The par three 12
^th
summed up their miserable day.

Golden Bell is one of the shortest par-three holes in golf majors. But it can also prove tricky and treacherous with ‘Raes Creek' in front, swirling winds and bunkers. But both Sergio and Rory nailed their shots to the green for possible birdies.

They both three-putted for bogey! As they walked off the green, they turned, caught each others sniggering faces and decided to stage a mock hug and embrace. They laughed all the way to the 13
^th
and all the way home. As Rory explained after:

If you can't laugh at yourself, who can you laugh at? It seems like every year I come out here, I throw in a bad nine holes out there. It was good to have Sergio at my side today even if we didn't have great days.

Rory's fourth US Masters appearance effectively ended after a +5, 77. Things did not improve much next day. In his final round he shot a +4, 76 and ended the event in a share of 40
^th
place as Bubba Watson won, beating Louis Oosthuizen in an astonishing playoff.

Standing by his principles, Rory took another month off tour before reappearing at the Wells Fargo event on 6 May. It is important here to recall Rory's very own reasoning for taking such lengthy periods away from golf.

Before his return to Augusta, he said that taking such time off was necessary for him so that he would come back ‘refocused and refreshed'. That seemed to work for the first half of the Masters, when he found himself just a shot behind the leaders until he blew up.

Behind the scenes, what most people fail to realise is that professional golfers take large periods of time off in order to work on their game. This is especially the case if a player has had a bad time in his previous tournament, which is what befell Rory in Augusta.

Time off allows a player to spend hours and days working on aspects of his or her game, such as driving, swing, posture, putting and all sorts of other areas. ‘Hard practise' is something that the greats like Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus strongly advocate.

However there was a big price to pay for Rory's absence. Following his miserable Masters, Luke Donald finished third in the Zurich Classic at the end of April and so reclaimed the world No 1 spot, having lost it briefly two weeks previously.

Quail Hollow for the Wells Fargo championship is one of Rory's favourite events. It was there in 2010 that he not only won his first ‘biggie' on the US Tour, but he also tore the course apart with a course record round of -10, 62.

On the eve of his 23
^rd
birthday, he opened up with a -2, 70 and next day the birthday boy improved better still in his second round. Starting on the 10
^th
, he birdied that as well as the 11
^th
and 15
^th
before giving one back on the 18
^th
.

He rallied again with further birdies on the fifth and ninth to finish with a -4, 68 for the day and six under for the tournament. He was nicely poised in 13
^th
place at the half way point and was reasonably happy, stating:

I have been able to get it around and being six under after two rounds is pretty good considering the way I've hit the ball. I just need to do some work this afternoon on the range and hopefully play better on the weekend. To be honest, a lot of my drives are ending up in the semi rough. You do need to hit the fairways here to give yourself every chance but I'll take 68.

‘Moving Day' saw Rory do just that. He shot a superb -6, 66 to be -12 for the tournament and two shots behind joint leaders Webb Simpson and Ryan Moore. He would go out in the penultimate group and with a chance of winning his second Wells Fargo in three years.

All the drama happened on the last couple of holes. Rory was three under for his round coming to the 17
^th
hole and he was in a share of the lead at 15 under with 35 year old ‘journeyman' D .A Points.

Rory dropped a shot at that hole to fall a shot behind Points who made par. It looked like he would fall short again as the title was Points' to lose. The little known American was playing out of his skin and had not dropped a shot for his past 39 holes!

Talk about pressure; talk about nerves and bottle and then there is the cruel hand of fate. Why oh why did it take Points until the very last hole to drop a shot, as he did on the 18
^th
? Destiny has dealt this sinister card on countless numerous occasions.

There was a look of horror and abject disappointment on his face as he stooped to pick his bogey ball from the hole. It was his first dropped shot in 40 holes and the look on his face was also one of resignation. He was resigned to the fact that Rory looked victorious.

As Points stood back watching, another dramatic moment was to follow. Rory stood over a 15-foot putt for the title. Photographers got into position, fully expecting to snap more glory for worldwide media exposure. He missed!

The two men shook hands knowing they would have to go to a playoff. Another man who was watching the drama unfold from the clubhouse would join them. Clad in his now-famous orange boiler-suit, Oklahoma's own Rickie Fowler also finished 14 under.

Back to the 18
^th
tee they trawled in their buggies with caddies and clubs in tow. Smiles, sips of water, handshakes and the hearts were thumping again. Without any doubt, the trio held various emotions in their bodies.

It is certain that at least one body was ravaged by nervous tension to the point that he could hear his heart in his ears as he unleashed his drive. His legs also felt weak. Another surely felt calm with nothing to lose and with a sense of ‘gung ho' and ‘give-it-a-go'.

No doubt one of them also had the feeling that he was destined to win, because he was playing like he had not played in a long time. He was playing magnificently. Every shot he played was sublime. As Tiger would say, ‘he had his A-game with him'.

McIlroy left the other two in his wake. His drive measured an astonishing 340 yards. He was in pole position. But Fowler was not too far behind and Points, who was trying to battle the demons of what had befallen him a few minutes before, still held every chance.

We would not have to wait long for the outcome. There would be no second tie hole to negotiate. The matter was settled with their second shots to the green. Rory and D .A hit fairly tame efforts while Ricky Fowler played the shot of his life. The shot of his career.

He played his second shot before Rory and the result, with the crowds going wild, was probably the reason why Rory followed with a poor effort, because Rory now had that feeling of resignation knowing that he would need something amazing to better Fowler's.

Ricky's shot came to rest four feet from the pin. A few minutes later, he duly slotted home for his first Tour win. How ironic that two young men tipped and touted to dominate world golf into the future had both won their maiden US titles at Quail Hollow.

It is also worth noting that Ricky Fowler is two years younger than Rory and both played in the 2007 Walker Cup. Some consolation for Rory lay in the fact that in his see-saw battle with Donald for world No 1, he had just leapfrogged back to the top again.

Ever the sportsman, McIlroy paid a generous compliment to his good friend Fowler:

You wouldn't call the 18th today a birdie hole with the pin situated where it was. So for Rickie to go out and play that hole the way he did, he deserved to win.

In total contrast to his beloved Wells Fargo event, the Players Championship is without doubt an event that Rory travels to with a feeling of apprehension. ‘Sawgrass' is a course which, to date, he has not really taken to.

Every golfer on the planet, amateur or professional, comes across a golf course (or hole) where at the first instant he or she sees it, a dislike or discomfort is formed. When that happens it is very hard to eradicate the feeling and it will continue to persist.

Rory no doubt heard about the so-called fifth major when he was growing up. He heard about its infamous 17
^th
hole and he probably watched down through the years a lot of the carnage that unfolded at that hole.

The following is an excerpt from the previous book, ‘Rory – His Story So Far'. It gives you a feeling of Rory's thoughts concerning the ‘Players' before he ever played it and how he has played it since:

“Over the years, Rory no doubt watched from his armchair, amid much amusement like the rest of us, as great golfers found themselves in big trouble there. No hole better illustrates the treacherous condition of Sawgrass than its infamous 17
^th
.

Requiring no more than a wedge, this short par-three still manages year after year to make fools out of the world's greatest golfers. The reason – from the tee, the green looks like a tiny target set against the backdrop of it being surrounded on all sides by water.

It is a cruel hole. Each year as the 160 golfers begin their rounds here, almost every single one of them has the 17
^th
on their minds. As they play through the previous holes, they are all acutely aware of that ‘bogey hole' lying in wait up ahead.

During the course of their rounds, golfers can hear the roars, the screams, the shrieks and the ‘oooohs and ahhhhs' of the crowds which signals to them that another ball has hit the water.

Then, when their own time has come to stand on that 17
^th
, with spectators and millions watching on TV, it can be akin to standing in front of a judge in court, or worse still, an executioner. The pressure can be enormous with many legs and limbs turning to jelly.

Here is another interesting take on Sawgrass and on Rory McIlroy which was written by Jay Busbee. Born Howard James Busbee Jr., he is an American novelist, sportswriter, comic book writer and well known golf bloggist. He wrote:

These kids today and their video games. So locked into their Xboxes and their Wiis and their Playstation 3s, they don't know what to do with life when it smacks ‘em right in the face.

Case in point: Rory McIlroy, who knows a thing or two about both real golf and the video kind. He kills time between tournaments by playing ‘Tiger Woods ‘09', and just this week got his first live taste of Sawgrass, a course he's completely mastered - he once shot a 54 over 18 virtual holes - on the game.

Rory's verdict, according to Reuters:

It's a lot different. You get up to holes like 11 on the computer and you can drive it up to the big tree on the right, which is like 150 from the green, I had a good drive yesterday and was still hitting a five wood in, it is not quite like it is on the Play Station.

Yeah, I've found that hunting zombies and carjacking a Ferrari in South Beach is a lot tougher in real life than it is in video games, too (Tip: neither one is recommended). Now, unlike the rest of us, McIlroy can actually play as himself in the game without having to create a slightly more muscular, slightly more handsome version of ourselves. Even so, no matter how graphically accurate the simulation may be, he's not even close to experiencing the real thing - not unless he's got a constant loop of goofballs yelling ‘Get in the hole!' running on his iPod as he plays.'

To many, it is euphemistically referred to as ‘The Island Green'. Rory was to get his very first taste of it and it would not be pleasant on his palate. He was not spared or shown any mercy.

Even though he was -2, he really struggled through his round which included three bogeys. Then splash! Rory took a triple-bogey six at the 137-yard beast! Karl MacGinty of the Irish Independent described Rory's tee shot: