THEY’VE often said Rory McIlroy could take after the master, Tiger Woods.
And on the back nine at Royal Birkdale yesterday, he roared into the sort of form which reminded you of the 14-time Major champion at his peak.
Unfortunately, on the front nine, McIlroy had emulated the sort of erratic driving which had seen golf’s fallen idol having his collar felt at the side of a Florida highway earlier this year . . .
The Northern Irishman was so far off the straight and narrow you had to wonder whether he had been under the influence of prescription drugs when talking up his own chances on the eve of The Open.
So what a difference a rollicking from his caddie, JP Fitzgerald, made.
These men are far more than just bag carriers — they can be golfing sat navs, they can be human punchbags — and on days like yesterday they can be master sports psychologists.
As McIlroy weaved around the course, left-right, left-right like a club hacker, Fitzgerald simply reminded the four-time Major winner exactly who he was.
You’re Rory ****ing McIlroy, sunshine. Get a grip.
GREAT STORIES IN GOLF
It was a reality check which served as a much-needed slap around the chops.
McIlroy, who had failed to make the cut in three of his previous four events, had found himself five over par after six holes.
And he admitted: “I was nervous going out there, I was anxious and timid — I just didn’t have as much belief in myself as I should have had.
“JP gave me a good talking to on the sixth tee, reminding me who I was. That got me back in a positive frame of mind.
“I’ll go to bed just thinking of the last 12 holes and try to emulate that in the second round.
“I didn’t get angry or let my head drop too much, so I kept a good positive attitude.
“It was good to see that long birdie putt drop on 18 so that I finished the day on something positive.
“With the poor weather we are expecting, I still feel I am right in this golf tournament.
“I’ve had a lack of confidence over the past couple of weeks, that got into my head a bit.
“It’s a Major and you’re always more nervous playing these four tournaments. I really felt the lack of self- belief but somehow I was able to find it halfway through the round.
“In other circumstances it might have been a disappointing score but I feel really positive.”
World No 4 McIlroy, 28, the most marketable man in the field, was looking like the worst betting tipster on the circuit when he seemed to blow himself out of the reckoning within 74 minutes.
By that stage the Northern Irishman was five over and ten strokes off the lead — with the dreaded sight of a yank-fest developing at the top of the leaderboard.
Yet on the back nine, this rock ’n roll golfer rediscovered his mojo and rattled in four birdies to end up with a one-over 71, six shots off the lead.
The Northern Irishman had been talking a good game on Wednesday, suggesting that with odds of 20-1 on him lifting the Claret Jug, this was a good week in which to back him.
For much of his round, it was the wise, old sages who had taken odds of 3-1 for him to miss the cut who were optimistic.
McIlroy had enjoyed the luck of the draw — heading out in benign weather after the early risers had been troubled by cold and blustery conditions.
But what followed was a nightmare as the newlywed embarked upon an in-depth exploration of the sand-traps and undergrowth of the Lancashire coast.
It began with a hooked tee shot deep into the broccoli and only a 20-foot putt averting a double-bogey.
Then came four successive bogeys, a missed green and a duffed chip on three, a bunkered tee shot on the short fourth, a three-putt on the fifth and a lipped-out 12-footer on six.
By then, they were tearing up betting slips across the land.
If McIlroy’s putter had not found a little heat, it would have got even worse.
The Wacky Races driving continued as he bunkered his tee shot on seven, but salvaged par, then teed off into the crowd at eight, only to drain a long par putt.
Slowly but surely, though, the bounce came back into his step and the belief seeped back into his game.
There were birdies at 11, on the two par fives at 15 and 17, then a pearler of a putt on 18 which sent him to the clubhouse surging with belief.
McIlroy ended up tied with England’s Olympic champion Justin Rose, who had endured the opposite sort of day, two under and tied for the early lead on the front line, followed by four bogeys and a blow-up at his caddie, Mark Fulcher.
Masters champion Sergio Garcia carded a 73 — finishing with back-to-back birdies to avert complete disaster, giving him a fighting chance of avoiding a blank weekend before his wedding next Saturday.
Trouble and strife had seemed the order of the day for some of the world’s finest golfers here.
But it is how you overcome adversity that counts — and McIlroy showed the mettle to do that, with a little help from the man on the bag.
Leave a comment