Rory gets his sea legs as he looks for plain sailing at the Scottish Open
Boat trip did the trick in 2014 and McIlroy aims to repeat his Open feat
The sight of Rory McIlroy on the ferry to Cairnryan for the AAM Scottish Open on Monday must have led one or two punters to conclude: ‘Blimey, I hadn’t realised times had got quite so tough for him.’
Graeme McDowell was another to see the funny side of his fellow Northern Irishman taking a form of transport not normally associated with people worth £150million. Referring to the private jet company that usually carries the superstar around, he texted Rory: ‘Didn’t realise NetJets did ferries.’
In fact, the journey was a pleasant trip down memory lane for the 28-yearold, who wanted to take his car so he can drive down to Royal Birkdale for The Open next week before heading off on a road trip to the Cotswolds with his wife, erica.
‘My dad and I used to take the ferry loads of times when I was an amateur,’ recalled McIlroy.
‘I remember when I was about ten or 11, my dad saying to me: “Rory, do you want to go and play snooker?” and I said: “Yeah, let’s go play”.
‘he goes: “Rory, it’s a boat, the balls are going to move”.
‘I sort of make that joke every time I go on now, saying to him: “You want to go and play pool?”. I actually like getting the boat. I got it to Liverpool in 2014, played at hoylake and then drove up to Aberdeen before coming back down for The Open, and that worked out pretty well (he won). Let’s hope it’s an omen.’
As you can probably gather, two missed cuts in his last three events, at the US Open and the Irish Open last week, have not dampened McIlroy’s spirits. One event to go until the biggest tournament of the year and he’s keeping the faith.
‘I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record and it’s difficult to sit here every week saying the same thing, but I really do believe I’m close,’ he said. ‘I’m coming into a stretch on courses that I feel suit my game and I’m excited about the next few weeks.’
McIlroy has always been something of a streak player but he dismissed any comparison to so-called ‘slumps’ he has suffered in the past.
‘This feels nothing like what happened at The Open in 2013, where I turned up at Muirfield and I wasn’t in a good frame of mind and my swing felt lost,’ he argued. ‘This year I’ve just got married, I’m in a great place personally, my game is good and so I’m in a way better place.’
The thing that’s principally holding him back is a short game that’s currently way below his normal standard. his friend Paul McGinley was one of a number of commentators to argue his putting stroke has become too technical, and McIlroy admitted that when the ferry docked on Monday, he headed straight to the putting green and worked on his own for 90 minutes trying to free up his method.
‘I think after the USPGA Championship last August, it was clear my stroke was not good enough and Phil (Kenyon, his putting coach) and I have worked hard getting it to the point where it’s now more than adequate to hole putts,’ he said.
‘But I feel like I’ve been getting bogged down in technical thoughts and now it’s time to just clear the mind and put it all together.
‘I remember the last time I played in this event at Royal Aberdeen three years ago I found something, it was like switching a lightbulb on, and I won The Open. That’s what I’m looking for, another lightbulb moment.’
McIlroy has been looking in some of the most unlikely places. how about the celebrated UFC showman Conor McGregor’s press conference on Tuesday night publicising his forthcoming pantomime fight with Floyd Mayweather? ‘It was so funny but I didn’t tune in just for the comical factor,’ said McIlroy. ‘he’s probably one of the most mentally strong people in sport right now. he says: “I see what happens in my mind and it happens”, and the mental side of what we do is obviously huge. If you could get into that state of mind while putting it would be massive.’
The wickedly sloping greens here at Dundonald will certainly test McIlroy’s patience and imagination, as he seeks a boost before the season’s third major.
‘The bottom line is to see some good things happening heading to Birkdale,’ he said.
McIlroy will go out this morning in the company of Open champion henrik Stenson and charismatic American Rickie Fowler, who lives ten minutes from Rory on Jupiter Island in Florida. There has been much talk in recent months about the size of Scottish crowds at golf tournaments but if this threesome doesn’t attract a sizeable following, then we are in trouble. heck, it’s so enticing, one or two might even be persuaded to follow Rory’s example and take the ferry over to watch.