Rory McIlroy is lacking the ‘Tiger Attitude’ according to legendary Tom Weiskopf, the recently turned 78-year old winner of the 1973 Open Championship along with 27 other worldwide victories.
The Ohio-born Weiskopf is also an acclaimed golf course designer having designed the famed Loch Lomond course in Scotland among his portfolio of world designs. Weiskopf was interviewed by Ponte Vedra-based fellow PGA Tour accredited journalist and my good friend, Adam Schupak. And among the questions Adam asked of Weiskopf was his thoughts on McIlroy, with Weiskopf not holding back in his assessment of the current World No. 4.
“I don’t know what it is. Maybe the way he interviews. I don’t see any frustration,” said Weiskopf.
“Life is good and it should be – he’s a multi, multi-millionaire and has a kid now – but I don’t see the Tiger attitude. It’s like he’s satisfied all the time. The guy is not a good putter. He can hit some putts so off line with the wrong speed. He’s technically not a good putter but one of the purest swings you’d ever want to watch play in the game.
“Technically, he’s superior to Dustin Johnson, but Dustin has the confidence to do it every time. I know Rory works out but I bet if you watched them both workout, Rory would be a lot of laughs and giggles and Dustin would be balls to the wall and forcing a little bit more on himself and that’s what he’s done. The way that he’s played this year, who the hell can beat this guy?”
And in comparing McIlroy with Johnson, Weiskopf spoke how ‘DJ’s’ ability ‘shined’ at Augusta National, with Johnson head-and-shoulders above his rivals in winning with a record-setting 20-under par victory tally.
“I watched him (Johnson) disseminate and take apart the great Augusta National,” said Weiskopf.
“It’s the greatest risk-reward, hole-after-hole, championship course I’ve ever played. The greens were soft but he was so much better, smarter, his ability shined. He had the power and control off the tee, his short game was awesome, his putting and wedge game, his demeanour and intelligence and plan of playing. The guy is unbelievable. He had it going that week, no doubt about it.
“There are others who would challenge him if they got it going, but they didn’t. They couldn’t. He did. He finally figured it out. When they tried to interview him, he was so emotional.
“I think it finally came to him that all this hard work that he’s put into it, all the experience by those that helped him, that have been telling him this forever, all of this became self-evident to him and he proved to himself that he finally understands how to play this game.”
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