Rory McIlroy’s season has been very interesting. The Northern Irish golfer has had a solid season behind him. Such a season would be marked as successful by 95% of golfers, but given that we are used to the best from him, there was certainly room for Rory to achieve even greater success, which he is aware of. The US Open was a particularly negative experience for him, considering he was so close to winning a Major after ten years.
Padraig Harrington, his colleague, has a high opinion of McIlroy, stressing that his consistency is what makes him special. In an interview with the Irish Independent, Harrington pointed out that everyone in the world would love to be in the shoes of a PGA Tour star. Looking at the performance of this season, only Scheffler and Schauffele can boast of better results, but the question is whether both of them can keep up the pace in the next year, especially Schauffele.
“Wouldn’t you love to be in his position?
“Who wouldn’t swap with him? Well, maybe Scottie [Scheffler] wouldn’t. Xander [Schauffele] looks like he’ll be a force going forward. But outside of that, you know, you might say Bryson [DeChambeau] or Brooks Koepka mightn’t swap with him, but they should!”- he said.
Rory McIlroy is surely the most criticized golfer. Do you have the feeling that golf experts and analysts see him as a target? It seems so. The 35-year-old golfer has been one of the most consistent players for years, regularly maintaining a high level of play.
However, Rory has set the bar so high that even when he excels, people expect a step higher from him. As you know, not winning the Majors in recent years has been criticized by many. It is common knowledge that Rory is a golfer who has the qualities to win major competitions, but the pressure created by the media and fans is a big problem for him.
The 53-year-old golfer doesn’t want to be someone who criticizes such a golfing great, praising his characteristics. Rory is a man who has a multitude of qualities, with which Harrington is well acquainted.
“[McIlroy is] unbelievable. He’s driving it great. He seems very comfortable with that. He chips it unbelievable. His putting is the best it’s been. He’s putted great the last three, four years.”- he continued.
Padraig Harrington© Ten Golf / Youtube Channel
The Irish golfer, on the other hand, could not help but look back on some of McIlroy’s less famous moments at the Majors in recent years. An experienced golfer is aware that these are frustrating moments, which create dissatisfaction in the individual. Padraig has a feeling that Rory always comes across golfers who are at their peak. Although McIlroy is a great golfer, Harrington points out that there are always golfers who excel in that period.
Although Rory McIlroy is happy with some great moments during the season, he is aware that at some moments he could have done better. The popular golfer admits that he is a person who is often hard on himself but also at times wants to focus on positive things and progress.
Do you get the feeling that even when McIlroy is doing great things, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying the moment and is already thinking about the next step? What is the reason for that? As we have already said, in addition to the pressure that the media creates on him, McIlroy is self-critical.
That’s exactly the mindset that brought him to the top, but sometimes it’s important to be kind to yourself, to have patience, and to believe that one day you can make your dream come true. The greatest problem for an experienced golfer is that his mistakes and omissions mostly fill the covers of magazines closely related to golf.
“I’m hard on myself, but at the same time, I try very hard to focus on the positives and move forward. Learn from my mistakes and then move on, because that’s all you can do in any walk of life. think what the hard thing is in my position is your disappointments and your mistakes keep getting brought up to you every time that you get in front of a camera or you’re in a press conference or answering questions. That’s the tough part of this gig.”- he said.
The 35-year-old has another side of his personality, the more positive one, looking at his life as a big thing. He wants to enjoy the moment and rejoice that golf has enabled him to do so much.
“At the same time, I am in a very fortunate position that this is what I get to do for a living. If I have to deal with what people deem are unfair expectations or are held to a higher standard than others, then so be it.
Tennis World USA