How else would you prepare for the Masters other than sacking off the Valspar and two Texas events on the PGA Tour to watch Zootopia 2 with your daughter and fly to Augusta National between school runs?
Rory McIlroy can do what he likes and soon he may well own Augusta National, which always seemed his destiny ever since his debut in 2009. Sitting in the media centre from 8am, it’s the first time all week there has been no buzz as everybody has to just sit and wait patiently for 2.50pm for McIlroy and Sam Burns to tee off in the final group.
Arsenal bottling their title chances against Bournemouth raises a few eyebrows and raises a murmur of chatter amongst us of a football persuasion. There is no doubt that Mikel Arteta plays football the wrong way, the antithesis of sport, but in Rory we have someone who has a capacity to find new ways to amaze every time. Even if not for his golf, but his personality.
It’s no coincidence that McIlroy’s major performances have drastically improved since he stepped away from the Player Advisory Board and gave up his role as the unofficial spokesperson for the PGA Tour in the face of LIV Golf. Nobody has picked up the poisoned chalice since as everybody just left him to it – you deal with that ball ache Rory!
It’s been a complete 180 from McIlroy who doesn’t really seem to give a damn about the PGA Tour these days, dropping subtle hints about a world tour and wanting to play a more global schedule himself. Last season he took himself to Australia and India – with the appropriate appearance fee – and this is a man who doesn’t concern himself with carrying the PGA Tour on his back.
McIlroy is looking after number one. After a back injury forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational and still hampered him in an underwhelming Players Championship defence, many were surprised that he didn’t play in one of the two Texas events leading up to the Masters.
One of McIlroy’s best traits is also his flaw in equal measure in that he gives so much of himself to the media. Friday’s press conference did assume the form of a winners presser and in that McIlroy appeared totally relaxed as he has done all week. Yet he couldn’t stop himself from pouring his heart out for us. His reasons for not playing competitively for two weeks were startling and surely drew a look of concern from Brian Rolapp in PGA Tour HQ and potential sponsors of the Valspar, Houston Open and Valero Texas Open.
“I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event. I’d rather come up here. I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her — or had dinner with Erica probably. Like I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio.
“It wasn’t really about conserving energy, but just I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better.”
He would almost make you question was his back even injured in the first place? In the lead up to the Masters he wasn’t asked about the state of his golf game, maybe he wanted it that way.
The journalist who asked him that question was indeed yours truly and when I venture back to Ireland I expect a letter in the post condemning me to a lifetime ban from Texas. Never fancied going there anyway.
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