PHILOSOPHICAL Rory McIlroy believes that ‘sooner or later’ the tide will turn on his major championship misfortune.
One month on from his gut-wrenching collapse in the final stretch of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, the Holywood native is once again on a mission to end a 10-year wait since he last won a major title when he tees it up at Royal Troon today (Thursday) at the 152nd Open Championship.
Reflecting on his series of near misses in majors since his fourth and still most recent triumph at the 2014 PGA Championship, the world number two drew a parallel to the legendary Jack Nicklaus and his 19 runner-up finishes in major championships.
McIlroy told the golfing media in Troon earlier this week: “It’s about putting yourself in there, in the arena.
“The one thing I’ve done a really good job of in the majors is I’ve been willing to have my heart broken. I’ve never liked to say I deserve things in golf but I think the more time you put yourself in those positions, sooner or later the odds are going to fall in your favour.
“I’ve let myself be vulnerable and I’ve let myself get to that point basically of no return. I’ve experienced three of those Sundays in the past two or three years.
“I’ll only know the impact [of Pinehurst] if I get myself in a similar position on Sunday,” he continued.
“I played 68 really good holes of golf at Pinehurst and just let it slip away at the end. Hopefully I get myself in that position again and if I do, I know I’ll handle it a little bit better.”
Fellow countryman and close friend of McIlroy, Shane Lowry, has jumped to the defence of the 35 year-old and his caddy following recent criticism.
Lowry, who along with McIlroy has been selected to represent Ireland at this summer’s Olympics in Paris, said that narrative around the pair’s compatibility makes his ‘blood boil’.
“They don’t see how hard Harry works and how good he is for Rory,” the 2019 Open champion told BBC Northern Ireland.
“Just because he’s not standing in the middle of the tee box like other caddies who want to be seen and heard doesn’t mean that his voice isn’t heard by Rory.
“When you get to tournaments, he’s always there before Rory, he’s always walking the course. He works harder than any of the caddies out here.
“Harry is the best caddie for Rory and I’ll argue that with anyone who wants to argue it with me.”
Meanwhile, it’s another big week in the fledgling career of local lad Tom McKibbin. The 21 year-old is making his Open Championship debut having crossed off his first major last month and the test of Royal Troon is one he’s looking forward to.
“I guess once I got on the DP World Tour I aspired to be in these big events and try to play in some of the best fields in golf.
“Maybe it has come a little bit earlier than expected but at the same time the way my game has been trending, I feel like I should have had a chance to play in one or two of them this year.”
McKibbin, whose maiden professional victory came 13 months ago at the Porsche European Open in Germany, has prepared for this week by playing a practice round with McIlroy and 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke on the South Ayrshire links.
“It was a pretty special morning,” he said. “The first couple of majors I ever watched on TV were the ones that they won, so to go out and have a practice round nice and early was cool.
“I’ve been lucky to play with Rory a good few times but to have both of them there was pretty awesome.”
Tom McKibbin got his first round underway at 6.45am this morning alongside Swede Alex Noren and Scottish amateur Calum Scott while McIlroy is paired with England’s Tyrrell Hatton and American Max Homa for the first two days.
