McIlroy itching to go after heart scare
Even a heart scare will not derail Rory McIlroy from his 2018 objective. He has undergone the tests, “absolutely loved the down time” and has come out of this period of self-examination by declaring his mission to return to world No 1 by the end of the year.
After a near four-month break — the longest of his career — McIlroy is plainly itching to go and will resume in the Abu Dhabi Championship this week.
The 28-year-old projects the air of an athlete who has recovered his spark — as well his mojo.
Except, the health report he delivered was unexpected after the injured rib which plagued his winless season of 2017.
“The rib’s fine, no problems whatsoever — I had an MRI scan on my thoracic spine and all was OK,” McIlroy said, after returning from yet another sun-lit practice session. “But I’ve got a bit of an irregularity with my heart that I have to keep on top of.
“I have a flat T-wave and I’ll have to get an echo [cardiogram] on my heart every six months and an MRI scan every year.
“I suffered a really bad viral infection in China 18 months ago and they told me that’s the reason that I have this thickening of my left ventricle and there’s a bit of scar tissue. For now, I just need to stay on top of it and have to stay fit. Hey, I was planning on doing that anyway.”
One of McIlroy’s many charms is that he is always unflustered. It is his blessed state of mind. Following the alarming health bulletin, he sat back in his seat and sipped on his cappuccino and barely winced when his world ranking was put to him. He may be 11th — the one and only time this decade that he has been ranked outside the top 10 at the start of a year — but that does not rankle.
“I don’t judge it like that,” McIlroy said. “I don’t care about the world rankings. I think about number of wins, the ability of the players against me, the number of majors the others have. I don’t feel I need to compare myself to anyone else, because I know what I can do. I’m not hung up on it.
“I still feel that on my day, if I’m on my roll, and especially if I’m playing with them . . . I just crave to be in that position again.
“That hasn’t always been the case with me. The first three years with my career I struggled when it came to that head-to-head stuff down the stretch, with the big guys, but now I actually think it’s when I am at my best.