Rory’s career is at a crossroads
THERE are landmarks in any working life that offer a moment to pause and reflect and 10 years at the coalface is certainly one of those. For Rory McIlroy, it was exactly 10 years ago yesterday that he signed the forms that made him a professional golfer.
What a decade it was, filled with highs that represented a new standard for British and Irish golf and an injection of colour that meant he was rarely out of the headlines. But also a fair share of lows underlining just how tough it is to stay at the top for any length of time.
We’re now in one of those fallow periods, at the end of perhaps the most disappointing of his 10 seasons as a pro. His year on the PGA Tour ended yesterday with him failing to qualify for the final FedEx Cup event, which he won in such glorious fashion last season.
McIlroy will play in next week’s British Masters after the four-times Major winner failed to qualify for the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The European Tour confirmed yesterday that the Northern Irishman will join tournament host Lee Westwood and US Masters champion Sergio Garcia at the Close House course near Newcastle.
“I kind of had it in the back of my mind that if I didn’t make the Tour Championship then there was a chance to tee it up at Close House, so I have decided to do that before finishing off my season the next week at the Dunhill Links,” he said.
“Teeing it up next week gives me one more chance to end 2017 on a high as well.
“If I can sign off the year with a win or two in Newcastle and then St Andrews I would take so many positives into my six-week recovery period when I am going to reset mentally and physically, and concentrate on getting myself in the right shape for next year.”
McIlroy has slipped to eighth in the latest world rankings after what is looking like becoming only his second winless season since turning professional.
Hampered with rib and back injuries, the 28-yearold said last month that he planned to take three months off at the end of the year to get fully fit.
It’s only right on this day, though, that he looks back rather than forward and with pride, too, for his achievements have been spectacular.
In the game’s history, perhaps only Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros achieved more during their first decade. Is it reasonable to expect a similar return over the next?
Given the fact he is still relatively young at 28 there’s no obvious reason why the next 10 years shouldn’t see him become Europe’s greatest ever golfer after passing Sir Nick Faldo’s total of six Majors. Perhaps he can become the greatest non-American golfer of all by overhauling Gary Player’s total of nine. They are targets McIlroy, quite rightly, has in his sights.
Yet he will begin his second decade at something of a crossroads. Of the five golfers ranked ahead of him, no fewer than four are younger, so the competition will be fierce.
Over the first decade the evidence was overwhelming that when McIlroy played his best no one else stood a chance, but will that remain the case given the desire and abilities of Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama?
McIlroy has certainly got some serious issues to address, beginning with his health. We’re told the persistent rib injury that has prevented him from practising properly for much of this season will be put right with two months of rest and we can only hope this proves the case.
On the course, McIlroy might have few peers when it comes to his work off the tee but it’s not much use when it’s accompanied by stats showing his wedge game and putting are way below a level to allow him to take advantage.
The plan is to spend much of December working on a solution.
By the time we reach Abu Dhabi in mid-January, the hope is for a fully fit McIlroy to emerge with a gleam in his eye once more and excitement in his voice.
Fingers crossed, for if the last decade has shown us anything, it is there’s nothing in golf quite like the sight of McIlroy in full flow. – Daily Mail