Rory McIlroy is imperious - and can achieve so much more, says Rob Lee
World No1 'an extraordinary ordinary guy'
Friday 10 October 2014 17:36, UK
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship was a solid week in a spectacular season for Rory McIlroy.
He performed the best of the Ryder Cuppers in Scotland to finish second – and could have been celebrating another win if he hadn’t double-bogeyed the first and putted into a bunker at 17 in his final round at St Andrews.
It was odd to see Rory in contention on the back nine and not win because I think he has now got enough to his game and enough resolve from big events that the other players fear his presence, as we saw in the Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship this year.
As long as he remains dedicated and focussed he should be targeting a double-figure Major haul.
McIlory trailed Sergio Garcia by three shots at the Bridgestone and lost the lead for a bit in the final round of the PGA, but he won on both occasions and is becoming known as a superior finisher in the Tiger Woods mould.
Rory is also driving magnificently – he is so far past everyone else distance-wise but is also on the fairway all the time so I don’t think you can get any better than what he is currently producing.
Previous World No 1’s have not been great drivers but McIlroy is putting that part of the game right back on the map and making it look easy.
Another great thing with Rory is that he still has so much more to achieve.
I’m sure the Masters is next on his plate but he will also want to do the Grand Slam and win every Major in a calendar year, as well as spend the record amount of time at the top of the rankings.
Rory will continue to make little fine-tunes here and little fine-tunes there but he is imperious at the moment and a man of his talent, as long as he remains dedicated and focussed, should be targeting a double-figure Major haul.
It is frightening how great he could be.
Spot on
I always felt a lot of McIlroy’s problems in 2013 stemmed from a bad schedule mixed in with some weekends off meaning not enough game time.
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He seemed to always be pondering whether or not to play the week before a Major, plus he also fried his brain travelling around the world to see Caroline Wozniacki when he should have been resting.
Now, though, he seems to be getting closer to getting his schedule spot on which is a worry for everybody else.
I know Tiger only played about 19 or 20 events a year but I think that number is too low for Rory, someone who gets into his best form by playing regularly.
Rory is like Tiger, though, in the sense that he can drive up viewing figures – if he is playing he is a big pull and lures in not just golf fans but casual sports fans and people who don’t really like sport.
In fact, McIlroy could be an even bigger hook than Tiger, purely because he deals with and engages with the media in fantastic style and in complete contrast to the way Woods used to.
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Tiger always gave you the impression that he couldn’t wait to get away but Rory gives you time and honest answers, speaks like a human being and makes sense.
Rory is an extraordinary ordinary guy.
I am going for Tommy Fleetwood at the Portugal Masters. He has had a really good summer with some excellent scores and is looking for that next big win. He has a great attitude and needs a fillip to get over Everton’s loss to Manchester United!
Jimmy Walker, meanwhile, is the defending champion at the Frys.com Open and I think he’ll keep his title after a good Ryder Cup. Jimmy paired well with Rickie Fowler at Gleneagles and then beat Lee Westwood in the singles, so he’s my man in California.
