Rising Star Rory Mcllroy inspired to win
Irish professional golfer, Graeme McDowell, took home the victory at this year’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach. Because he was the first European to win a U.S. Open since Tony Jacklin in 1970 and the first Irishman to win it ever, he inspired many other Team Europe professional golfers going into this year’s British Open at St. Andrews’.
Notable amongst these is rising star Rory McIlroy. The young, Irish professional golfer skipped the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond to prepare for the event that he has made clear he intends to win.
McDowell told the Telegraph that he was honoured and happy to be an inspiration to McIlroy: “The reaction to me winning spurs guys on. Take Rory as an example, I’ve never seen a guy so excited about next week.”
Between friendly rounds at Royal County Down golf course after Pebble beach, McIlroy boasted his intentions to McDowell. McDowell explained McIlroy’s intentions to the Telegraph: “he told me he pulled out of this week. I inspired him and he wanted to get ready for St Andrews. He wanted to get ready for next week and now believes he can win majors. Quickly.”
While McDowell is happy to inspire the young hopeful, American players like Phil Mickelson are starting to sound nervous about competing against new talent like McIlroy.
Mickelson also shared his concern with the Telegraph: “One of the things I’ve been working on in my preparation for St Andrews is trying to swing the club head faster because I feel like the driver is going to be a key club there. I will be swinging much harder at the ball than I normally would. I look at the young guys today – McIlroy, [Ryo] Ishikawa, Rickie Fowler hits the ball hard. I think these guys have so much club head speed that it’s a necessity now.”
Mickelson is right to be intimidated. After only having turned professional in 2007 and standing at a mere 21 years old, McIlroy recorded his first Professional Golfers’ Association Tour win on May 2 of this year with a 62 finish at the Quail Hollow Championship. The final round set a new record for the course and impressed professional American golfer Tiger Woods who told Bettingpro: “He’s already won on our tour, so he has the talent.” Woods clearly agrees with McDowell that the kid has what it takes to bring home the victory.
But is all this hype too much pressure? Skipping the Scottish Open to be ready for the British Open demonstrates maturity and a strong sense of priorities. Woods and McDowell are singing his praise and the weight of desire to live up to the precedent exhibited by his older, Irish peer at Pebble Beach could be stressful for the trailblazing golfer.
Aside from his May 2 win, McIlroy lost two other Major outings this year and has not been playing up to par with the best. That being said, 2009 was a year of success after success for McIlroy from finishing 29th at the Master’s, 10th at the US Open and 4th at the PGA Championship. Push come to shove, not only does McIlroy rank in the top ten of the best professionals in the world, but he is definitely the one to watch at this year’s British Open.
If he wins, we will be sure to watch for McDowell’s reaction. Hopefully it will be as tearful as McIlroy’s as he watched his fellow Irishman win at Pebble Beach and cried tears of joy and camaraderie. McIlroy attributes McDowell’s win as a testament to his ability to believe in himself. He writes on his blog about his own chances at The British Open: “I reckon I’ve got a good chance as I’ve played really well round St Andrews in the past.”
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