Rory hoping to sail back into top form
THE sight of Rory McIlroy on the ferry to Cairnryan, near Stranraer, for the AAM Scottish Open 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 set around, he texted Rory: ‘Didn’t realise NetJets did ferries.’
In fact, the journey was a pleasant trip down memory lane for the 28-year-old, 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,’ he recalled. ‘I remember when I was about 10 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”?’
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 is 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.’
The thing that is principally holding him back is a short game that is 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 has admitted as much.
‘I think after the PGA last August it was quite 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 this event in 2014 I found something, it was like switching a lightbulb on, and I won the Open the following week. That’s what I’m looking for here, another lightbulb moment.’
Like McIlroy, last year’s Open champion Henrik Stenson is looking to ignite a humdrum season. The demands of being the champion golfer of the year have taken their toll, with Stenson coming up with a typically wry way to describe them.
‘I liken it to before and after having kids,’ he said. ‘When you have kids your life changes to such an extent you can’t believe what you did with all the time before you had them, and that’s what it’s like having the Claret Jug.
‘So it’s been a busy year, but I don’t want to sit here and complain about it. That’s certainly not the way to look at it.’
A model Open champion and no mistake.