Rory McIlroy’s break before Ryder Cup is right approach, says Des Smyth

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/18/rory-mcilroy-ryder-cup-des-smyth

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Rory McIlroy is right to take a complete break from golf in the week before the Ryder Cup to avoid going stale, according to Europe’s vice-captain Des Smyth.

McIlroy admitted he had been unable to muster the energy to win the Tour Championship in Atlanta on Sunday after playing eight tournaments in 10 weeks, and said he would be putting his clubs away for a few days. Smyth is convinced that is the right strategy, despite fears the world No1 could lose his form before the Ryder Cup starts at Gleneagles next Friday.

“I’ve been a pro for 41 years and if you are playing high-level golf you can get stale. There is only so much in the tank. You have to rest, and chilling out is a good thing because it clears your mind,” said Smyth. “I am not going to advise Rory because he knows best himself, but I would like to think he’ll have a nice rest because he has been hitting golf balls non-stop for five weeks. That’s hard on the body as well. A good rest will help him.”

McIlroy has enjoyed a stellar summer, winning two majors and extending his lead at the top of the rankings, but Smyth says that the Northern Irishman still just wants to be one of the team and is not throwing his weight around despite being the best player in the world. “He’s a really nice kid and a charming fellow and a really team person,” said Smyth.

“When he gets in that room he’ll be a fun guy to deal with. He’ll inspire the team. Other No1s in different sports can create an aura of self-importance but Rory doesn’t create that. The type of personality he has will relax the other players. In the fact he is quite young means the others will take the mick out of him.” But Smyth, one of captain Paul McGinley’s closest confidants as well as one of his vice captains, does admit that McIlroy is not the only European player feeling the strain after playing in the FedEx Cup, but hopes that a 12-day break would be enough to recover.

“A lot of the guys are feeling tired,” Smyth said “The FedEx Cup was a pretty tough test because it was four weeks of golf at the highest level. But they will have almost two weeks rest and I hope it’s enough to get them back to good form.”

Yet despite his concerns over his players’ energy levels, Smyth, who played in the Ryder Cup in 1979 and 1981 and was a vice-captain when Europe beat the US at the K Club in 2006, believes that Europe deserve to be strong favourites.

“This team is equally as good as 2006 and we have the No1 player in the world,” he said. “This is as good a team as we have ever put out.”

Smyth also conceded that leaving out the former world No1 Luke Donald had “not been easy” but insisted it was the right decision. “Luke is in the middle of a swing change and hasn’t finished in the top 30 in the past three months,” he said. “He just hasn’t got the form and players like Stephen Gallacher have stepped up to the plate.”

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