The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Rory doesn’t do himself any favours
RORY McIlroy’s decision to skip this year’s Irish Open at Lahinch has been the biggest story in golf for the past few days and draws similarities to the famous spat between Mick McCarthy and Roy Keane in Saipan in that it has the golfing world split right down the middle.
Roy Curtis wrote a rather interesting article in the Irish Independent following McIlroy’s announcement and certainly didn’t hold back on his criticism, describing McIlroy’s Irish Open snub as: “An insult to National Intelligence and Paul McGinley” while also stating that “McIlroy might as well have serrated the edge of an old lob wedge and thrust it in to McGinley’s ribcage”.
Strong stuff indeed from Roy and it was followed by a huge debate on Twitter with Curtis coming in for some fierce abuse from McIlroy fans and prompting Lee Westwood to get involved saying: “I think you’re well out of order. Rory has supported and raised the profile of the Irish Open over the last few years and he doesn’t owe the Irish Open anything”.
Others, including a well-known golf writer in Ireland, described the article by Curtis as: “Gutter journalism and tabloid thrash that is a deliberate attempt to start a hate campaign against McIlroy”.
Dermot Gilleece, the elder statesman of golf writers in Ireland, wrote: “It’s disappointing to lose McIlroy but we should respect his decision, this being Ireland, however, there are those who will have the scalpel out”.
There were also those who slammed McIlroy for deciding to skip Lahinch with comments like “Eaten bread is soon forgotten”, “I hope he never again wins a tournament” and “Rory will do what suits Rory and to hell with everyone else”.
Regular readers of this column will be aware that I have never been McIlroy’s biggest fan – and I have had letters of complaint written to the editor such has been my criticism of him in the past – and on this occasion I’m somewhere between Roy Curtis and Dermot Gilleece.
Let’s firstly examine McIlroy’s reason for deciding not to play in the Irish Open at Lahinch. He claims that the best preparation for the Open Championship at Royal Portrush is to play the Scottish Open the week after Lahinch and that playing three weeks in-a-row was not the best preparation for Portrush, which he claims he wants to win more than the Masters, which would complete a career grand slam.
Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not buying that story for one single minute. First of all, if he doesn’t want to play three weeks in-a-row, why not skip Scotland and play in your national championship?
Secondly, I don’t believe for a second that he would prefer to win an Open Championship at Royal Portrush (which is not even his home course) ahead of achieving a career grand slam, something that only five men in the history of the game have achieved!
This is just Rory trying to take the pressure of the grand slam off himself as the Masters approaches and I also think that perhaps Rory has a dislike for Lahinch, because to my certain knowledge he never played in the South of Ireland Championship as an amateur, so was that it I wonder?
Paul McGinley, the host of this year’s Irish Open at Lahinch, has, to his credit, remained dignified in his response to McIlroy’s decision saying: “The proof will be in the pudding after Portrush”.
This latest controversy has again thrust McIlroy into a negative light no matter what way you look at it, and coupled with his recent decision to play on the PGA Tour ahead of the European Tour, it has certainly lost him a lot more fans in this country, not that he is bothered anyway.
Finally, I wonder what happens if, for the sake of argument, he wins the Masters in April. Will he then decide to change his plans again and play at Lahinch?