Rory's Glory (15 page)

Despite the fact that, in between all the turmoil and heartache of under-performing, he got great solace and joy from being with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, media speculation began to mount that the couple were breaking up.

It eventually petered out, especially since there were no friends or family on any one particular side who came forward to confirm it. In fact, both Rory and Caroline had to constantly deny the rumours.

The media were eventually sent whining and whimpering away with their tails between their legs, because in the weeks and months thereafter there was no more substance to the story. In the meantime Rory kept on hoping that somehow he could turn his form around.

After all the misery of missed cuts and down-the-field finishes, he was now heading to his favourite major, the USPGA. Not only had he gone close to winning this major the first few times he played in it, he was now going there as defending champion.

Everything seemed to be in his favour when thunderstorms drenched the course on the night before the event. As mentioned before, Rory is a class horse who goes on any ground but he has a real liking for soft ground conditions.

Played at Oak Hill in Rochester, New York, Rory could not have wished for a better start. He was three under through his first four holes but again he suffered a few wobbles. After the turn he suffered back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 before an electric storm saved him.

Lightning in the skies forced play to be suspended for over an hour and this gave Rory the chance to compose himself. He could talk to his coach Michael Bannon and the pair could iron out the reasons he made those bogeys to fall from three under to one under par.

It certainly had the desired effect as immediately on the resumption of play, he birdied the 12
^th
with an eight-foot putt. But he then proceeded to bogey the 17
^th
when taking three putts to get down.

On the 18
^th
he also struggled but managed to make par when another bogey looked likely. His problems had not gone away and he had a lot of work to do. Still, a -1, 69 was a good start. It left him four shots behind both Adam Scott and Jim Furyk who carded 65's.

While American Jason Dufner ran amok in the second round with a marvellous seven under for 63, Rory's frustrations continued. This time he shot a one over round of 71 to find himself nine shots behind Dufner who held a two shot lead over Furyk, Scott and Matt Kuchar.

The story of Rory's third round is one of battling and brilliance. When he really had to shoot a very low score to cut the lead held by those at the top, he had to be content with a round that only got him back into contention, and no more.

However, a -3, 67 did give him a chance going into the final round. That was because those in front of him actually experienced contrasting fortunes, but the leading score remained at nine under par.

Jim Furyk showed his usual rock solid play and with rounds of 65, 68, and 68 he led by a shot from Dufner. But at least McIlroy moved forward after the likes of Justin Rose (with sevon over) and Kuchar (with six over) had days to forget.

So there was a certain satisfaction but it could have been an entirely different McIlroy mood had it not been for some of his magic on the last hole. Off the tee, Rory's ball swung 20 yards off course and over the heads of the crowds into deep rough.

When he arrived on the scene, it was a case of all hands on deck. Rory rolled up his sleeves while the crowds moved their portable chairs, bags and even the litter bins in order to clear a path for Rory.

With a four iron in hand he whacked the ball out and up towards the green, but it fell short and into more rough. His two under round was unravelling and he faced another -1, 69 or worse.

As he walked up the 18
^th
fairway acknowledging the crowd, he must have been thinking about just what he had to do to get rid of the demons plaguing his game. Then, with a wedge, he chipped it in the hole for birdie as the crowd whooped it up with delight.

Six shots adrift overnight was no forlorn hope. Dufner had posted a 63 the previous day and similarly, if Rory could manage to pull out one big round, just as a poker player calls on that one big card, Rory could so easily post a similar score or better.

After his 67 he said:

I wouldn't say it was my best ball-striking round by any means but I got it up and down when I needed to. I knew they were going to toughen up the course. I sort of thought two 65s would have a chance, to 10 under par. I felt good enough about my game that I would go out there and post a good one to at least give myself a chance going into tomorrow.

So if he wanted to hit a 65 in both of the last two rounds, then by his calculations of 10 under, Rory now had to shoot 63 or better to be right in the thick of it. It was possible but in reality it was a tall order, and so it proved.

He shot a steady round of level-par 70 to remain three under. It was his highest finish since the Players Championship three months earlier when he also finished eighth. Jason Dufner on -10 fully deserved to win his first major by holding off Furyk by two shots.

A three week break ensued until he played again. The Barclays is an event that always signals a hectic end to the year. It is the first of the four Fedex Cup tournaments by the end of which one lucky golfer walks away with a cool $10 million bonus cheque.

Kevin Stadler, the son of legendary American golfer Craig ‘The Walrus' Stadler, shot a stunning -7, 64 to lead after round one. Yet again Rory endured a topsy-turvy round eventually having to settle for an even par, 71.

Next day he shot 65 which was one of the best rounds he had put together for some considerable time. However, Matt Kuchar was now out on his own after he fired a double volley of 66, 65 to lead on -11.

As McIlroy had said in his last tournament, he now needed to blast two rounds of 65 to be in with a slim chance of winning this one. It never materialized. Another disappointing 71 effectively put paid to his chances as Kuchar on -12 was joined by Gary Woodland.

Among the middle starters in the final round, Rory never got anything going and finished on +1, 72. Adam Scott won a thrilling event by posting a 66. On -11, it was good enough to win by a shot from a group including Tiger Woods who tied second.

Rory tied 19
^th
and although he was not out of the Fedex running, his hopes really vanished at the Deutsche Bank the following week. He ended in a share of 47
^th
but one very positive thing did emanate from it.

In almost 10 months of competitive golf, he shot his lowest score of the year – a 64. Coming off the back of a 65 the previous week and a 67 at the USPGA, this was most encouraging.

One round was not enough though. He needed the consistency of doing it over three or four rounds to emerge as a winner again. Nevertheless, shooting such a low round was evidence that the tide might be turning in his favour.

It got worse and a fortnight later at the BMW, it was almost a case of two steps forward, six steps back. He must have felt like packing in his golf for the rest of the season after recording a miserable 78 in the first round.

Contracts and commitments meant that there was no way he could ever do that and the ignominy did not end there. His season was summed up in the fact that finishing tied 57
^th
meant he failed to qualify for the Fedex Cup's final event.

Not being part of the Tour Championship in Atlanta and the select group of 30 players battling for Fedex glory must have hurt him deeply. His game was now in crisis and even he, at that stage, must have started to feel that switching to Nike clubs had jinxed him.

Newspaper stories circulated to the effect that Rory was having sessions with leading sports psychologists. But the best psychology of all was to get out on the practice range and putting greens.

Doubtless he spent many hours meticulously doing just that with his coach as well as going through video footage, because he now had valuable time to do it. Missing the Fedex final meant that he had almost a month and a half until his next event.

‘Things can only get better' as the lyrics go but Rory had been waiting a long time for his luck to change. He would also have another very long wait until his next event but perhaps a trip to the Far East might have a stimulating and refreshing effect.

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Suitcases were packed and at the ready for a fairly long stint of activity involving tournaments in China, Saudi Arabia and Australia. Those destinations would be crammed into a hectic traveling schedule leading up to Christmas.

The events were spaced out fortnightly meaning Rory would jet off to an event in the East for one week and then jet back West. He would need at least a week to recover from the long haul flights and time differences.

First up was the HSBC event in Shezhan, Shanghai, which has not been kind to Rory over the years. Inaugurated in 2005, Phil Mickelson has won it twice along with the likes of Martin Kaymer and Ian Poulter.

After the monotony of the US Tour the sights and smells of this bustling Oriental City certainly helped. The weeks and weeks of hard work and preparation with his coach did not go to waste.

Rory opened up with an impressive 65. At seven under he was two shots ahead of Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez Castano. But once again, old habits die hard and next day the gremlins returned to haunt him.

An even-par 72 in the second round ruined all chance he had of winning the event because Dustin Johnson shot a brilliant nine under round of 63. That put him at the top on -12 and he never looked back after.

Two more excellent closing rounds of 66 and 66 gave the big American hitter a three shot winning margin over Ian Poulter with Graeme McDowell third. McIlroy's opening round was really what gave him a sixth place finish but he was all of nine shots behind Johnson.

A very interesting thing happened in China with a glowing tribute paid to Rory by Tiger Woods. He had seen Rory's game up close and personal from playing with him and out of the blue he blurted out to the world's media:

“Mark my words – Rory will win before the year is out.”

Rory's frustrating form continued at the DP World Championship in Dubai two weeks later. Mediocre rounds were sandwiched between two very good rounds of 67 but once more there were signs he was making real progress.

After a sixth place in China, he finished fifth in the Middle East but the encouraging signs were to be seen in the fact that he shot two 67s. Incredibly it was his first time to do this since way back in April when rounds of 67 and 66 earned him a second placing in Texas.

The hard work seemed to be paying off. He had staved off bad results and now had two top 10 finishes in succession. Now the big question was, could he keep the consistency going to the point of going all the way to the winning post?

Sydney, Australia, was the third and final leg of the journey before Rory could rest up with family for Christmas. Australian golf officials had made several advances to Rory in the preceding years trying to get him to play their best tournaments.

However, Rory's schedule in the US, Europe and around the world meant that he could never get a chance to play in Australia. In actual fact this would only be his second trip Down Under, his first for six years.

In 2007, as a young scrawny teenager with a mop of curly black hair, he played in the Australian Masters in Melbourne, just his fifth tournament as a professional. He had turned pro in September and, from just four events played, he had amassed €277,000.

This amount secured his tour card for the 2008 European Tour and a passage to future greatness. In Australia, he made the cut and then flew back home to Northern Ireland with another €11,500 after finishing 15
^th
on six under and seven shots behind Aaron Baddeley.

Fast forward to Royal Sydney GC on 28
^th
November 2013 and Rory would begin his Australian Open with a -3, 69. This left him seven shots adrift of the Aussie darling Adam Scott who thrilled his fellow Aussies with a sizzling 10 under, 62.

As Scott struggled to show anything like that hot the streak next day, it was Rory who turned on the style. After shooting a super 65, he now shot up the leaderboard to sit only two shots behind the Australian on -10.

It was a role reversal in the third round as Rory only managed a 70, while Scott's 68 gave him a four shot lead going into the last day. It was a lot of ground to make up but in the last group with Scott, he was just one great round away from ending his run of misery.

Actually, the Aussie was just one round away from his own personal milestone. After winning the Australian PGA, he then became the first Australian ever to claim three successive Australian Masters titles when he won it on 23 November.

Now he was bidding to become the sixth man to win the Australian Triple Crown by adding this Australian Open to his resume. Robert Allenby, Peter Lonard, Craig ‘Popeye' Parry, Peter Senior and of course Greg ‘Shark' Norman had previously achieved the feat.

The duel began and soon it became evident that Rory was keyed up and determined while Scott just looked a little off colour. Maybe the enormity of history allied to Rory's dazzling displays started to unsettle him.

Some great iron play and birdies from Rory had eaten into his lead and he had yet to make anything happen. It was one of those days when nothing would fall for him, but it still looked like Rory had too much to do and Scott would run out the victor.

Even though he was only a single shot under par for the day, Scott stood on the 18
^th
with a one shot lead and a little piece of immortality beckoning. Horror of horrors and how many times have we witnessed it – a few minutes from home and he made a mess of it.

He bogeyed the final hole and when Rory rammed home a 15-foot birdie, he led for the very first time and where it mattered most – at the death. Rory was 2013 Australian Open Champion.