Bathed in sunshine and roared on by galleries packed three deep the entire length of each hole, Rory McIlroy looked every inch a man at home as he wandered his way around Royal County Down on Sunday.
His demeanour was that of a man out for a leisurely stroll, relaxed and carefree, certainly not a man carrying the weight of the expectations of the 15,000 fans in attendance and the countless others willing him on through their television screens. Even those missed seven- and eight-footers were taken with a rueful headshake and little more.
But it’s never that simple with Rory, and as he headed for the final third of his round, those missed seven- and eight-footers began to weigh heavy and the galleries began to twitch in the manner they might watching a child play with dynamite. There was going to be a stumble, we all knew it. The only question was whether or not somebody would be in position to capitalise.
Make no mistake, Rasmus Højgaard rode his luck, but people have begun to make a habit of riding their luck and picking Rory’s pocket, and as a result, these losses become devastating.
There’d only been one eagle on the 18th hole all day – that belonged to Aaron Cockerill who holed from 36 feet – and there’d been three times as many double bogeys as there had been eagles. To ask Rory to step up to the plate and cover the 544 yards in three swings was extreme but watching him crush driver and flight a 7-iron into 10 feet was as maddening as it was exhilarating.
Maddening because he’d had 10 yards less from position A1 on both 15 and 17, missing the green in the worst possible spot on the former and leaving a tough two-putt on the latter. And as we all know by now, he bogeyed both.
Of the three perfect shots required on 18, he executed two and was an inch out on the third. But that’s golf. Even on a 544-yard hole, and on a 7,186-yard course, golf is a game of inches. Had he been forced to layup, wedged to 15 feet and holed the birdie putt, the number on the scorecard would’ve been the same, the result would’ve been the same, but the emotional toll would’ve been slightly different.
But this way, it’s heroic defeat, and heroic defeat has become Rory’s calling card.
I’m not quite sure how he keeps picking himself up after each blow, but he does. I’m not sure how he keeps telling himself that this time it’ll be different, but he does. And I’m not sure how he keeps coming out on the wrong side of these close calls, but he does.
Majors aside, winning an Irish Open in his home county has to be up there with winning an Olympic medal on McIlroy’s wish list. The roars that reverberated around the 18th green when his approach shot landed and came to rest 10 feet away was astonishing, and even for one of if not the most popular golfer on the planet not called ‘Tiger Woods’, it had to be a hair-raising experience.
Chances to win majors don’t come around that often, but he’s got four a year to aim for. There’s only one Irish Open, and who knows when it’ll be back at Royal County Down again.
It’s hard not to reflect on this week and be drawn back to Pinehurst in June. He did so much right, and he did it for so long, but when he needed it most, his composure deserted him.
Højgaard played the final five holes in -4, Rory played them in level par, and we need look no further than that for the reason why Højgaard was on the 18th green getting presented with a crystal trophy and Rory was loading his clubs into the car and wondering how he’d let another one slip through his grasp.
He’s playing at Wentworth next week and playing in Abu Dhabi and again in Dubai in November, but I’m sure all he really wants is to wrap things up and put 2024 behind him. And I don’t blame him.
But he’ll probably contend again next week, and if not there, then definitely in the Middle East, and he’ll probably knock off at least one victory in the process. The problem is, the level of joy from winning in Abu Dhabi or Dubai won’t come close to the level of pain of defeat at Royal County Down.
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