Major obsession could prove to harm our game, warns McIlroy
RORY MCILROY is confident he’ll end his major drought “sooner or later” but fears major mania could be damaging the game worldwide.
The Co Down man outgunned World No.1 Brooks Koepka on Sunday to win the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup and a $15 million bonus.
But after going another year without a major win, he may lose out to the PGA champion Koepka in the vote for the PGA Tour’s Player of the Year award despite out-performing him in almost every other statistical category.
Asked on the eve of the Omega European Masters if winning next year’s Masters and catching Koepka at the top of the world rankings were his number one goals next season, McIlroy said: “I’ ll just do what I did on Sunday. I beat him then so I’ll just try to emulate that.
“I think a lot is made of the majors. We play 25 tournaments a year, it’s not as if the other 21 don’t count. There’s big tournaments and a lot to play for.
“The media like to run with the major narrative and the players get into that as well. There is a perpetual cycle of majors, majors, majors.”
McIlroy last won a major five years ago and fears the hype around the game’s biggest events overshadows the rest of the game.
“We need to be careful,” warned McIlroy. “If we keep prolonging the major narrative, it’s not good for our game.
“I just think as a whole, it’s a slippery slope. You will have golf fans who only care for four weeks a year.
“I want people to be interested in our game every week.”
McIlroy has not given up on winning majors, insisting, “sooner or later I’ll win them again”.
He still has lots still to play for this year and closing the gap that Koepka enjoys at the top of the world rankings is high on his agenda.
“It’s a goal to get closer, to keep playing well,” he said. “That’s my focus for the rest of the year, getting closer to that number one spot.” RYAN Jones is predicting a ferocious backlash from Ireland following their record defeat at Twickenham, but still believes Warren Gatland’s experimental Welsh side will cope with it.
Joe Schmidt’s men were beaten 25-7 on their last visit to Cardiff in March when Gatland’s Wales secured the third Six Nations Grand Slam of the New Zealander’s reign.
Last weekend they were sunk under an avalanche of eight tries in a record 57-15 loss to England.
Now they face back-to-back games against No.1 ranked team Wales before heading to Japan for the World Cup.
“Ireland will want to go into the World Cup with a couple of wins under their belt to give them some confidence,” said former Wales captain and three-time Grand Slammer Jones.
“The clever play here is we are combating it with a group of guys who are playing for their World Cup opportunities. It is very much like we saw England do in the first warm-up match against us.
“We are going to be competitive because we have a game plan and the players will know what is expected of them. It is at home, the fans will be out in their droves and we have all the ingredients for a very fierce Test match.
“Wales tried some different things at Twickenham and then came back the next week and played differently. We showed all the traits that make us hugely competitive.”
Wales moved to No.1 in the World Rugby rankings at the second time of asking with their 13-6 home win over England the week after a 33-19 loss at Twickenham. They will need to win to stay there this weekend when they will be defending an 11-match unbeaten home run.
But while Jones concedes winning breeds confidence, he doesn’t believe you should read too much into results at this stage of the build-up to Japan.
“We’re still in a period of preparation. You don’t gear anything to peak in early August — it is all geared to peaking in September,” added Jones.
“The guys are pretty tired and pretty run down and beat up because they have had it tough. It is about giving them the game time they need and peaking in a month’s time.
“It has been a smart way of approaching the warm-up games because all the guys will have some rugby under their belts.”
Both Wales and Ireland are set to field experimental sides in what is a final chance for the two sets of players to earn World Cup selection. Wales will be captained by Josh Navidi for the first time.
Jones also believes the Welsh crowd could play a huge part in