McIlroy’s priority is to get well
LONDON: What is it they say about finding light in the darkest moments? When the day finally comes to pass judgment on the career of Rory McIlroy, what happened in the aftermath of a desperate week in August might prove a significant landmark.
We're in front of the Links clubhouse at St Andrews as the Northern Irishman prepares to say a merciful farewell to his dead loss of a season. Ask him for the low point and, given his trademark honesty, you half expect him to respond: 'How many do you want?'
But the reply is instant, pinpointing that week in August when he ended up feeling as dejected as perhaps at any time as a pro.
The week was the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. A week that had been circled in his calendar for four years. A course where he had won twice as a pro, where he felt all but invincible. It was the week when he was going to end his threeyear sequence without a major and get back on track. Except he couldn't deliver.
'That was the week when all the frustration came to a head,' admitted the 28-yearold. 'To play that course and hit some of the shots I hit, to not be in complete control of my game because I couldn't hit the amount of balls I needed to be consistent with my swing, I ended up thinking: "What's the point?"
'I came to see you guys and said that could be me done until January and that's exactly how I felt. I'd finished twenty-something or whatever and what good was that? I was so dejected, I just couldn't see any light at the end of the tunnel.'
But there was light. It came in the idea for a three-month sabbatical, which began yesterday. Finally to get over the nagging rib injury that lay at the heart of his desperate year but also for so much more besides.
'The one thing it will not be is a holiday,' he said. 'I've got a lot of hard work in front of me. The first thing is to get healthy, so there will be six weeks of mostly rehab without hitting a shot. Then I want to work on my game away from worrying about getting ready for a tournament.
'I need to work on my wedge play and my putting, they've really let me down this year. But I need to work on everything, because I think everything can get better. I need to assess where I can regain my advantage.'
The last time McIlroy had a poor season he bounced back the following year by winning backto-back majors in 2014. He accepts it will be harder this time. Daily Mail
The one thing it will not be is a holiday.”
RORY MCILROY