analysis Northern Irishman has point to prove at US Open
Rory McIlroy refuses to say the word, “choker”, as if expressing the term might in some way validate its association with him. Shooting 80 in the final round at the Masters, and so surrendering his four-shot overnight lead, distinguished McIlroy, but he will not allow the image of him -- his head buried in the crook of his elbow, unable to face the true extent of his ordeal -- to become a defining portrayal.
Since that afternoon in April at Augusta, when so much of his potential was thwarted by a terrible angst, McIlroy has responded like somebody scolded rather than damned. He spent his earnings for finishing in 15th place on a five-a-side pitch in his garden, and when his friend and compatriot Graeme McDowell shot 79 in the final round of The Players Championship, he sent him a text that read: “Don’t worry mate, it happens to the best of us.”
McIlroy is not flippant about spurning the moment when the great promise of his career would have delivered its first act of glory, but neither is he tormented by it. A picture of the 10th at Augusta -- where his composure began to unravel so ruinously that six shots were discarded on three consecutive holes -- is the screensaver on his laptop.
There have been moments of reflection, and McIlroy has been working on his putting with Dave Stockton. But only the scrutiny of being in contention -- or, in particular, leading -- in the final round of a major will reveal the extent of McIlroy’s recovery from the most destructive shots of his career. On Thursday, he will tee up in the US Open at Congressional, carrying both the goodwill of the American crowds, who were smitten by his poise and grace at Augusta, and his own sense of reclaiming his sense of worth.
McIlroy has already played practice rounds at the course, prompting the Washington Post to send a reporter out to speak to him about his game, but also his visit last week to Haiti on behalf of UNICEF. The 22-year-old already crosses that boundary between sport and celebrity, with his Twitter comments often reported in the press, along with the rekindling of his relationship with Holly Sweeney, his childhood sweetheart. In the aftermath of the Masters, he also received text messages of support from Sir Alex Ferguson, Greg Norman and Rafael Nadal.
America loves a story of redemption, and McIlroy winning this week would provide the kind of narrative to whip up a surge of emotion. As if to emphasise this sentiment, he has been drawn to play with Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Yet only Luke Donald might be considered a better bet among the European contenders, as McIlroy is capable of flourishing at Congressional. His putting has always been the weakest element of his game, but the work with Stockton, and a refusal to succumb to the expectation of a spell in despair following the Masters, places McIlroy among the contenders.
He flew straight from Augusta to Kuala Lumpur for the Malaysian Open and, although he let another lead slip, this time to Matteo Manassero, the sense was of McIlroy having already recovered something of his aplomb. Since then, he has performed creditably enough at the World Match Play Championship and the PGA at Wentworth, then more impressively in finishing fifth at the Memorial Tournament. The only setback was failing to make the cut at Quail Hollow, as he attempted to defend his title in the Wells Fargo Championship.
If McIlroy has adapted in any way, it is to the realisation that he had lost something of his ruthlessness, or arrogance even. His talent was so devastating that he played with a sense of entitlement as an amateur, but he admits to setting out on his final round at the Masters looking to hold his position, rather than seeking to establish his worth by dominating the rest of the field, the kind of ruthless aggression that Tiger Woods exerted in his prime; the “killer instinct” as McIlroy calls it.
He has led The Open after the first round, and has posted top-10 finishes in all the majors apart from the Masters, but McIlroy understands that his status in the game will be determined by his victories in these events.
“You really want to get your first one out of the way and kick on,” he says. He measures his ambition in how many majors he can win, which is a reflection of the depth of his talent, something that manages to be both effortless and brilliantly expressive.
McIlroy is not alone in enduring a traumatic final round when leading a major -- Johnson, in the US Open, and Nick Watney, in the PGA Championship, also shot rounds in the 80s -- but it is the Northern Irishman who is best equipped to briskly leave that anguish behind.
“He will be fired up for Congressional,” says Andrew Chandler, McIlroy’s manager.
“He thrives when the spotlight is on him, so I would not be too worried about any hangover from the Masters.”
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