[caption id="attachment_70180" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="The world’s number 1, Rory McIlroy, pictured at the U.S. Open in 2009, the year he broke into the top 10."]
As Rory Mcllroy negotiated the home stretch at the Honda Classic a week from last Sunday afternoon, NBC brought Jack Nicklaus into the on-course studio. With no sign of the leader crumbling and facilitating what the network would have regarded as a dream play-off with Tiger Woods, the television suits gave up on drama and instead invited Nicklaus to wax lyrical about the 22-year-old in the moments before he officially became world number one.
As the greatest ever to play the game rattled off anecdotes about the kid from Holywood, the implication was obvious. Here was the official imprimatur from on high, the anointing of the next generation by the guardian of the sport. There wasn’t this kind of unofficial coronation when Lee Westwood or Luke Donald took over the top spot in recent seasons. This was definitely different and deliberately being made to look so for the cameras.
When they cut away from Nicklaus and back to the action, we could all understand why Mcllroy was singled out for this sort of treatment. As he lined up putts and as he stood on tee boxes, there were wags in the crowd reminding him aloud: “It’s only Tiger, it’s only Tiger!” Some players might have been intimidated by that. At least in previous years. Just like lesser competitors might have been unnerved earlier by the chanting of Woods’s first name around the course as he rattled in the 62. But Mcllroy appeared oblivious to these pressures.
Whether he was so in the zone he didn’t notice or so mentally strong he didn’t care, he is going to have his mettle tested in very different ways over the coming months and years. Not being affected by a charging Woods on a Sunday is one thing. Trying to remain focussed and normal having turned into one of the most famous celebrity athletes in the world is quite another. In this respect, the cameo of Mcllroy cavorting on the tennis court at Madison Square Garden on the Monday was a tad worrying.
For all the fun the world’s media have knocked out of him trading shots with Maria Sharapova, the whole episode raises troubling questions. Apparently, Mcllroy flew to New York just hours after holing out at Palm Beach Gardens on Sunday in order to spend time with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki. Nothing wrong with that. Well, except he teed off at the WGC – Cadillac Championship at Doral in Miami on last Thursday morning. Even allowing for the private jet at his disposal, some are already baulking at this flitting about the country in between two serious events. Did the crazy schedule have anything to do with his subsequent opening round 73 last week?
Perhaps Mcllroy is young enough to be able to hopscotch around America in between tee-offs. Maybe getting away from the course to see his missus will do him the world of good. However, he must understand something about where is he now he has attained a fame that transcends his own sport. In the minds of the American media in particular, every aspect of his life is fair game. For example, should his ex, Holly Sweeney, fancy some face time on television any time soon, she would just have to make the call and any one of a dozen gossip shows here would have her on immediately. Somebody needs to warn him that he’s as likely to crop up on TMZ these days as he is on ESPN. That’s’ how famous he is.
It’s not just the gossip mavens who will be interested in his personal life either. The galleries will regard Mcllroy’s relationship as a legitimate target too. Just ask Sergio Garcia. When he dated Martina Hingis a few years back, the Spaniard heard all about it from beered-up fans at courses all across America. Most famously, the New Yorkers who thronged Bethpage Black for the U.S. Open in 2002 tormented him with R-rated taunts about Hingis. Mcllroy is much more liked than Garcia (who always divided people) but next time Tiger’s making a serious run at him at the business end of a tournament, he can expect to hear some choice comments about Wozniacki from the crowd, especially if he ever breaks up with her.
“It depends what type of mind you have and if you thrive in the spotlight or if you welcome it,” said Mcllroy when asked about the new pressures he’s likely to face as world number one. “I feel like I do thrive in the spotlight, and I like the attention. Not saying that I'm an attention seeker, but I like to, you know you're doing something right when you're in the spotlight. I'd love to keep myself here for a while.
“But yeah, I know that it's inevitable that I'll lose it at some point. That's for sure. I just hope that it's a little further away. But, yeah, I don't feel like I'm under any pressure to keep the No. 1, because that's not what I play golf for. It's not to keep the No. 1 ranking. It's about winning tournaments, and if I win tournaments, the ranking will take care of itself.”
As we wonder if he can handle that sort of stuff and to be fair everything so far suggests he has an impressive mental make-up, we were reminded of an interview from Mcllroy’s recent past. Shortly after his 21st birthday, he was asked by American radio journalist Dan Patrick about how his life may have to change now that’s becoming so well-known.
“It’s not that big a concern,” replied McIlroy, sounding taken aback by the very notion of being a paparazzi target. “At home I’m just another person, a normal 21 year old going out having fun.”
“In the states, it’s a little bit different,” cautioned Patrick, pressing the issue in the tone of a man worried about the innocent abroad. “They are going to scrutinize you a little more here.”
Sound advice then. Even more so now.
