Rory McIlroy, Nerves, and Handling the Press

 

Back to Form in Scotland

Rory McIlroy should’ve won the U.S Open 3 weeks ago in North Carolina. He knows it most of all.

 He played 2 of the last 4 holes poorly, losing 2 strokes to the surging Bryson Dechambeau. Rory popped up yesterday in Scotland to answer a few questions about his meltdown at Pinehurst. There weren’t any surprises in his answers, but he was honest. He was too aware of where Bryson was on the course and it affected how he played his shots. His putt on 18 was just a lack of focus. The pressure was too much. Even the best golfers can make mistakes down the stretch. The story from the U.S Open though, was how McIlroy stormed off after the loss without talking to the press.

He certainly should’ve stayed and done the “good-sport” thing. It’s what’s expected. You shake hands with the winner and talk about what worked, what didn’t. That he didn’t stay is all we need to know about how painful this was. A camera in the clubhouse did catch his sour reaction when Bryson made his putt to win. I’m always impressed by how these athletes go in front of the cameras after a loss and answer questions. Most of them are boiling caldrons waiting to erupt at a question they deem ridiculous. Some of the best sound bites come from angry players and coaches after a heartbreaking loss. Who can forget coach Denny Green’s “They are who we thought they were!” outburst when the Chicago Bears came from behind to embarrass his Arizona Cardinals?

Golf isn’t known for angry, volatile types. They certainly exist though. Watch Tyrrell Hatton miss long on a wedge shot sometime. Or catch Wyndam Clark in the high grass trying to dig his Titleist out of the muck. Even John Rahm loses his cool quite a bit. The press conferences are highly structured though. They leave the outbursts to football. The players are likely coached on how to talk to the press and soften the sharp edges.

I understand that they’re paid to do pressers and face the music, but it still takes an enormous amount of diplomacy. Not all athletes have it. On normal days, Rory is the best at handling the questions. I’ll give him a break on this one. He’s one of golf’s biggest stars and does interviews constantly. He even defended his caddie, Harry Diamond, against criticism that he didn’t step in and make different club selections. I’m not really aware of what caddies are supposed to do other than carry the bag and give advice on wind speed and distance. That’s probably my ignorance as a novice golfer coming through. I suppose if your caddie is also your golf instructor then the relationship is different. It looks like Diamond is a friend first and a caddie second. Which also means, the chance of him stepping in and arguing with a particular approach is unlikely.

Maybe Rory needs an instructor to carry the bag instead of having his friend do it. That’s probably what the criticism (from Hank Haney and others) was all about. Instead of calling Diamond a bum who has no business on the field, you say he should’ve done more. What they really want to say is “Get a real caddie would you?” But it’s not like Rory never wins. It’s been 10 years since his last major but he’s always near the top of the leaderboard during the season. A meltdown like at Pinehurst No. 2 from 3 weeks ago hangs squarely on his shoulders. Caddies don’t hit the ball anyway.

It's occasions like this that remind how good professional athletes are. That sounds a little silly. Of course they’re good, they’re at the top of their game. A few of them, like McIlroy, manage to stay there for years. It’s not just the play I’m talking about, it’s the pressure to win. And when you don’t win, smile and pretend you’re SOOO happy for the other guy that it’s almost worth a loss. Obviously, there is a lot of psychology in this area of sports that these guys have learned about and practiced. But that gut punch feeling of losing a big game when you know you should’ve won doesn’t go away. It ruins some athletes for good too. The pressure becomes unbearable and they fade away. Or they develop a strange tick that affects their performance. 

In baseball it’s called the yips. The most famous case is of St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Rick Ankiel. He couldn’t even throw the ball near the plate on back to back starts. Naturally you can’t start a pitcher who’s a head case. He was cut, but shortly remade himself as an outfielder and got back to the majors after a few stints in A and Rookie League ball. That’s a bigger story anyway. Getting to play at that level in two different positions is an amazing feat.

Rory too will bounce back. I’d like to see him win the Open in 2 weeks in Scotland. If he doesn’t win, he should at least do the decent thing and pretend to be happy for whoever did.