Struggling McIlroy still searching for the spark
... but don’t write off Rory, who can find his feet at Royal Birkdale
AFTER two missed cuts in a row on links courses that were supposed to get him in the mood for The Open, the only option left for Rory McIlroy yesterday was to head down t o Royal Birkdale in a desperate search for a solution.
The dank mist that hung on the Irish Sea in the distance must have matched his mood as he waited until late in the day when virtually everyone else had left before hitting the range under the supervision of his long- time coach, Michael Bannon.
Instead, he will begin on Thursday with serious questions being asked about his game from 150 yards in, and grave doubts as to whether his confidence levels can survive such a rigorous test as the one provided by the best course in Britain.
Mind you, he is hardly alone among the superstar set in feeling this way. Can anyone remember the last time a major took place with so many of the world’s top-ranked players struggling for form? Good luck to the bookmakers in trying to handicap this one. Suffice to say, this 146th Open is truly open.
It starts at the top, with world No 1 Dustin Johnson. Invincible in March, he looked a racing certainty to follow up his US Open win the previous year by claiming the Green Jacket in April. Then fate took an ugly turn, as he suffered a freak fall on the eve of the event and pulled up lame on the first morning. Since then, he has struggled for form and he comes into The Open with a record from his last three majors reading: MC (Missed Cut), WD, MC.
Remember Jason Day, the Australian who was going to win at least six majors, according to fellow countryman Greg Norman? To be fair to Norman, his optimism was understandable when Day was winning tournaments for fun in 2015-16. But he was burdened rather than emboldened by becoming world No 1 and was not a factor in the season’s first two majors.
Ditto defending champion Henrik Stenson, who missed the cut in both, making it four players out of the world’s top seven for whom the majors so far have been a complete write-off. Indeed, the only top 10 they’ve mustered between them was McIlroy’s tied seventh finish at the Masters and even that was of the backdoor variety, following a final-round 69.
No wonder Sir Nick Faldo believes the streak of first-time major winners will be extended to eight in a row with victory for either of Europe’s t wo i n- form competitors, Jon Rahm or Tommy Fleetwood. It is certainly high time an Englishman won in England. The last time it happened was when Tony Jacklin was wearing violet at Royal Lytham in 1969. It’s asking an awful lot of Fleetwood, however, to cope with the enormous expectation that will inevitably fall on his shoulders as the hometown boy.
Those who believe in karma will be looking more in the direction of Justin Rose. What a story it would be if he were to win the Claret Jug, 19 years on from claiming the silver medal by finishing fourth as a 17-year-old amateur, complete with a holed pitch shot for the ages from 80 yards at the 18th. Would you believe that remains his best finish in an Open?
Yet it’s not just Englishmen who struggle at Birkdale. The only British player or Irishman to win there was Padraig Harrington in 2008. Instead it has been fertile ground for Americans, who love the smooth putting surfaces, and Australians brought up on similar terrain on the sandbelt courses near Melbourne.
With doubts over Johnson, the player leading the American charge might well be Rickie Fowler, even if questions are being asked in his homeland about his mental fortitude. But the 28- year- old from California has a game that should fit perfectly with Birkdale’s requirements. There’s also Jordan Spieth, although he will have to drive the ball straighter than he usually does to have any chance.
Regarding the Aussie contingent, this might be the week we see the re-emergence of Day, while Marc Leishman might be worth a pound or two for those who like a punt on an outsider.
The last two Opens have been won by men who had turned 40, so don’t rule out the wise old heads who struggle most weeks to keep up with golf’s collection of talented, charismatic twentysomethings.
Sergio Garcia might not have reached 40, but he’s certainly wise when it comes to the wiles of links golf. The last winner at Birkdale before Harrington was Mark O’Meara, who followed up his Masters success two months earlier by adding the Claret Jug. A lucky omen perhaps?
As for golf’s main man, perhaps he can draw some comfort from another Northern Irishman, who arrived at Royal St George’s in 2011 after a missed cut at the Scottish Open. I had a pint with Darren Clarke on the Monday and he was so down he sounded like he would rather have walked into the North Sea than to the first tee. The idea he could be Open Champion by the end of the week was laughable.
Yet he found something in the build-up, a spark like the one McIlroy will go hunting for. That’s the fickle nature of golf and why McIlroy can’t be written off, even if time and logic are against him.