Paul McGinley
Golf Columnist
Rory McIlroy will use 'balanced' strategy in The Open, says Paul McGinley
Last Updated: 18/07/18 3:38pm
Paul McGinley expects Rory McIlroy to adopt a "balanced" strategy in The 147th Open, which gets underway at Carnoustie on Thursday.
McIlroy has practised with Jon Rahm on the sun-baked links course this week and has seen the Spaniard regularly pull his driver out of the bag, thinking "this is where I want to hit it, and this is where I want to go".
But McGinley believes McIlroy will use more cautious tactics after following the Northern Irishman for a few holes during his practice round.
McGinley said: "It's not going to be Jon Rahm's strategy of gung-ho with driver everywhere, but it's going to be a bit of a balance.
"There are certainly a lot of holes where he can take advantage. But the important thing for me with strategy around here - if you are going to hit drivers - is you start with the pin position and work backwards.
"Sometimes it is far better to be in the rough on the left-hand side than it is to be in the middle of the fairway, because then you've got an angle in towards the flag in these firm conditions. The pin positions are crucial and they'll dictate strategy more so than just the holes themselves."
McIlroy is without a major success since winning The Open and US PGA Championship back to back in 2014 and McGinley reckons he needs to learn to cope with the burden of expectation if he is to add to his tally of four major victories.
"What happens with these guys - and we have seen Jordan Spieth do something similar - is they come out with a lot of success at a very early age and then the media and the money and all the plaudits roll in and then there's expectation," said McGinley.
"Now, instead of having a free run and free throw of the dice and a free shot and 'if I miss the cut, no big deal', all of a sudden you are expected.
"The burden of expectation is such a big, heavy weight to carry. It doesn't mean you can't carry it, you've got to have a different mind-set going forward.
"Tiger Woods did it brilliantly and Jack Nicklaus did it brilliantly. It's a difficult thing to do, but that's what made them greats - be able to handle the burden of expectations once you have initial success. That's a difficult place to be, but it's not insurmountable."
With the Carnoustie course running hard and fast, McGinley is eagerly looking forward to a "fantastic event" this week.
He said: "Our golfing forefathers, hundreds of years ago, when they designed this great game of golf, these are the conditions they wanted to play the game in.
"I think [you need] the skill-set required to play it, the mental strength required to play it, the strategy options required to play it; you have the little bit of breeze that we are going to have - 10mph or so - which is perfect for a links course and, of course, the firm conditions.
"It's got every ingredient you want for a fantastic event on a brilliant venue. I'm so excited about this Open, I think it's going to be absolutely fantastic."
