Before Augusta, Rory has a wall of his own to scale
Derek Lawrenson
RORY McILROY confided a couple of years ago that he had lost his childlike wonder for golf and last week’s absurd sequence of events surely helps to explain why.
That a professional golfer should find himself pilloried for accepting an invitation to play 18 holes with the President of the United States underlines that the campaign against Donald Trump has now become as crazed and irrational as some of the actions of the man himself.
A political gesture to say yes, as some of the more bilious argued? Quite plainly, the political gesture would have been if McIlroy had said no and, thankfully, the Northern Irishman opted to show respect for the office, in the nation where he lives for six months every year, that was clearly due.
Now, can we get to the important business of this week... McIlroy’s return to the game?
Naturally, it would have to be in the event shifted by the PGA Tour from the President’s course in Miami to Mexico, of all places. ‘I hope they have good kidnap insurance,’ was Trump’s typically charming response, when told the news last year.
McIlroy hasn’t played since losing a play-off for the South African Open to Graeme Storm in January, owing to a fractured rib. With the Masters now barely a month away, he has played in just two events in the last 17 weeks.
Conscious of the fact that he had played a thin schedule at the back end of last year, McIlroy had planned on being busy in the months leading up to the second weekend in April, only to pick up his unfortunate injury.
Now he has just three events to work off the rust, four if he decides to add the Houston Open, taking place the week before the Masters, at the last minute. At least this week’s WGC-Mexico Championship, with its small, elite field, has no halfway cut, and so guarantees him four competitive rounds.
But it’s obviously far from ideal. The Trump furore may be mercifully behind him but McIlroy’s facing a heck of a wall to scale to be major ready for Augusta.