Write McIlroy off, says Clarke

RORY MCILROY’S streak of not winning a major is nearly seven years old, so there is the usual buzz about his drought with the Open Championship set to begin overnight in Sandwich, England.

Darren Clarke, who won his lone major on the same Royal St. George’s course in 2011, played a practice round with McIlroy yesterday. He was amused to be asked if he gave McIlroy any advice.

“Who am I to give Rory McIlroy suggestions on what he should be and shouldn’t be doing?” Clarke said of his fellow Northern Ireland native.

The way Clarke sees it, McIlroy is close to picking up his fifth career major. It is just a matter of time in his eyes.

“If you have the right mindset then you allow yourself to perform, and I think Rory has been working really hard on that aspect as well,” Clarke said.

“Believe me, I spoke to Rory many times when we were playing, and his desire is incredible. He wants to win major tournaments. He wants to perform and he wants to play well.

“If I was him, with his amount of talent, hell

yeah I’d be frustrated with not winning tournaments. But the flip side of that is because of the talent that he does have, it’s only a question of time before he starts winning.

“At the end of the day you’ve just got to believe in your own ability and believe in your own talent and trust that it’s going to happen, and that’s the bottom line,” Clarke said.

“Everybody here this week – obviously technique-wise they’re incredible players otherwise they wouldn’t be here.

“The mentally strong are the ones that usually come out on top at the end of the week.” – Field Level Media