Under Discussion: Rory McIlroy's spectacular first major success at the US Open
Chatting are: Tony Leen, John McHenry, Simon Lewis and Charlie Mulqueen
TONY LEEN, Irish Examiner sports editor: Just going through the press conference transcript from McIlroy at Congressional last night. He's got a very shrewd head on young shoulders. Did he receive media training or is that just natural?
CHARLIE MULQUEEN, veteran golf correspondent: No training that I ever heard of. But he certainly comes across as a very articulate and thoughtful young man who makes sense when he speaks - and that's something that can't be said of every sportsman, professionals very much included. There are many good reasons for how well he presents himself. Rory himself can take a bow because he's inherently a nice guy, courteous and affable, and has been, if you like, blessed with the gift of the gab. He has a very sharp sense of humour that also comes across no matter what the situation may be. All that said, I believe he owes a great deal to his parents Gerry, who is an outgoing, extremely friendly man who loves the scene but doesn't get too close to his son when he's playing golf and hasn't been averse to advising Rory pretty strongly whenever he has felt the need. Rosie is a quiet lady but a very determined and sincere person who took two or even three jobs to help pay the bills when Rory needed to be transported all over the country when he was still an amateur. In every sense, the McIlroys make for a formidable team.
JOHN McHENRY, former Tour professional: He has demonstrated he has a great head. The maturity he showed this week was fantastic. He answered everything including people talking about Augusta and him winning the US Open. He lead from the start he wants to be there.
TONY LEEN: And another thing out of the presser which you both alluded to post Masters: Rory saying he should have communicated better with caddie JP Fitzgerald at Augusta. I think Chubby said something similar afterwards last night - that player and caddie had got their act together this time?
JOHN McHENRY: They were great this time. You only have to look at the first hole. A three wood short of the bunkers and a punched wedge shot into a back pin position therefore ruling out any spin or a shot over the back of the green. There was nothing to cavalier about yesterdays round It looked very easy a sure sign of their maturity.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I am absolutely thrilled for J.P. I have known him a very long time, as has John, and he really is a remarkable individual. He was an outstanding amateur golfer, as we all know, and since turning to the caddying game, has won a Ryder Cup with Paul McGinley and also worked for, among others, Greg Owen when he nearly won a US PGA Championship, Darren Clarke and Ernie Els. He did take a bit of stick after Augusta and some wanted Rory to ditch him altogether. JP knows when to keep his mouth shut so we'll never know what advice, if any, he gave to Rory at Augusta but whether he got it right or wrong there, it was great to see him come out on the right side this time. He's a good guy and deserved his major!
TONY LEEN: Some media are describing McIlroy’s swing as the best in world golf? Is everyone just caught up in the flush of success at the moment. How would you rate his swing?
JOHN McHENRY: I would go along with the hype. As a striker of the ball he is so far ahead of anyone out there at the moment. That said, there is far more to golf than just striking the ball and he is still leaning all of that quickly. This course was made for his game in that it was long right to left and soft. He will have greater challenges in his pursuit of further majors, but he is already establishing an X factor that few in the world possess.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Obviously, John you know the hell of a lot more about the golf swing than I do but even I could see that he was totally at ease with the driver, most importantly, of all and with the long and medium irons. His swing looked absolutely perfect, never seemed to deviate from the same plane, and whatever work he did with putting coach Dave Stockton seems to have paid a very rich dividend. Combine all of that with the perfect composure he displayed from first drive to final putt and you have the ideal recipe for a successful golfer.
TONY LEEN: I had to laugh when the subject of a golf slam came up afterwards. Rory reminded everyone he hjad just won a first major, but going to St George, unquestionably he's now a marked man.
SIMON LEWIS, Irish Examiner golf correspondent: I think he's got a target on his back for a while after jumping out quickly at the last three or four majors but now he's made that extra leap and one won, undoubtedly we'll be seeing McIlroy at the top of the odds' lists from here on in.
JOHN McHENRY: Yes and he has the game to win so many more. The hype is unbelievable but we must remember that when we are making comparisons with Nicklaus and Tiger we are talking about careers of 20+ years. It was interesting to hear McDowell talk about him living the past year reflecting about his win and wanting to move on. Rory hopefully will win another major soon so that he doesnt have to fall into that category.
TONY LEEN: Fair point, but the natural human inclination now will be to PRESUME he's going to win everything. It might take a couple of disappoints to cool that kind of talk.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Marked man or not, Rory will enjoy the challenge of Royal St Georges. It's located at Sandwich in Kent and is a sop to the South of England given that all the other courses on the rota are in the north west or in Scotland. It's a bouncy, unpredictable place, especially, when the weather is dry and sunny, but it's the kind of place that should hold few fears for Rory and the other Irish because they all grew up playing such courses. I think he has a great chance there and also in the US PGA at the Atlanta Athletic Club in August. His confidence now knows no bounds and he won't care who's chasing him or on his tail, if anything I think he will benefit from the challenge. And, yes, I believe in time he will challenge all the records set by Woods, Hagen and even Nicklaus. He is THAT good.
SIMON LEWIS: I think he's dealt great so far with the massive expectation that's been placed upon him for so long up to this point, he'll handle all this in the same way. And to that last point, Chubby Chandler, his manager, was saying he's as good in a press room as he is on the course and it's difficult to argue with him on that. Everybody loves Rory.
Think you're right, Charlie, especially about Atlanta which apparently is very similar to Congressional.
JOHN McHENRY: I agree, but he will be carrying the favourite's tag for some time to come. No other player out there at the moment seems to have the ability to go so low so frequently. The manner of his win leading from the front much like Augusta means that mant player will be forced to play more agressively from the word go now which should make things more exciting. Mc Ilroy has significantly moved the game and the challenge on and he's still learning. Watch out for the younger brigade of 20 somethings There could be a huge changing of the guard in the coming years
TONY LEEN: Endorsement and commercially, what's this worth and will Rory capitalise?
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: Well, when Chubby Chandler and the boys at ISM are finished with this, the money accruing to Rory will make his $1.44m look like chicken feed. Whether, say, Lough Erne, the lovely course near Enniskillen, and Jumeirah in Dubai, two of his major sponsors at the moment, will be able to afford him is another matter. He's the hottest property in the game, knows how to sell himself very well, again largely because inherently he's such a nice guy.
SIMON LEWIS: The names he's being compared to are the legends of the game and putting his win here into context draws those names into the conversation. He got the Nicklaus seal of approval last night, the records he's broken are Tiger's, and he's the youngest winner of a US Open since Bobby Jones. That's some trio right there.
TONY LEEN: Rory reckoned that after the birdie at 10 it was his to lose. DId anyone have any doubts once he'd negotiated his way through Saturday?
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: It was interesting to watch and listen as Colin Montgomerie and Butch Harmon debated that issue on Sky Sports. Monty declared it as good as all over before the finish of the third round and was proved right, a point he gleefully made a few times as the finish he had predicted drew ever closer on Sunday night. Harmon was more circumspect, pointing out there was still a long way to go, and that's fair enough. Dare I say I was on Monty's side simply because Rory was swinging so well and was clearly in control of his emotions. Quite remarkable for a young man of such tender years and I just wish those who like to see a negative side of Rory because he has uttered one or two thoughts with which they are unhappy would remember just how young he still is. When they were 21 or 22, did THEY ever say anything they later regretted.
JOHN McHENRY: This was a totally different Rory McIlroy all week to the one at Augusta some ten weeks ago. He oozed attitude and controlled aggression. His first hole yesterday simply reinforced his newly found confidence and status. The soft course meant that he could control things much more easily - no tricky chips or par putts. Yesterday he delivered but the biggest round of his life was probably on Saturday in my opinion because that was the day he said to the world i can going to win this thing going away.
TONY LEEN: What of the chasing pack? Will Westwood ever win the major he truly deserves. And who is the pick for ye of those bright young things referred to - Jason Day, Ishikawa?
SIMON LEWIS: Day has been very impressive the last three majors and he's got a great game, but he's so pedestrian in his play he's not a great one to watch in that respect. He won't care about that and that could be the great rivalry of the future. We know Ishikawa's got game and then there's the Italian kid Manassero. We could be in for another golden era.
CHARLIE MULQUEEN: I certainly like look of Jason Day, although I wish he'd speed it up a bit, but the longer Westwood goes without a major on his cv, the more you fear the Holy Grail of a major may never be his. For the biggest threat to Rory, perhaps we should be looking easterly and towards Korea and Japan where the likes of Noh and Ishikawa are showing lots of potential. And, as Simon says, there's also no knowing how far Manassero can go. As for the Americans, they seem to be going in the same direction as their tennis players, there was a time when they dominated that game, now the best they could do at Congressional was joint third for two guys we have hardly heard of - Chappel and Garrigus. It's a far cry from the halcyon days of Woods and Mickelson.
JOHN McHENRY: The challenge for Rory now in my opinion is to find his own zone over the coming weeks to properly prepare for the Open Championship. Dave Stockton seems to have added some steel no doubt and has given him confidence on the greens as he putted far more aggressively this week that I have seen him for some time. We know he has the game to win many more, the real challenge will come over the delicate chips and putts he will undoubtedly have to make in the future if he is to win many more championships. I like what I see so far but everyone in the game must be fearing the day he executes his half shots and his chipping and putting the same as his long game. If he ever achieves that then no one will be able to live with him. My biggest fear for Rory right now is how he handles the hype surrounding his comprehensive win. He seems very balanced as do Gerry and Rosie. He would do himself a favour to talk to the like of Nicklaus about this one as he can reasonable expect to win more and he must learn how to live with his own expectation and stay winning.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/iLStEW5hWKM/post.aspx
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