Rory McIlroy’s golden form offsets fatigue as he powers on to Wentworth
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Version 0 of 1. Precious few at the summit of professional golf would commit to the playing of five tournaments in succession. Least of all, that is, when the final event of that run requires a far wider remit than simply turning up. That isn’t a cue to tune the violins in sympathy for the poor souls, rather a basic reality. Rory McIlroy cited the realisation of an unacceptable position somewhere in the hundreds on the FedEx Cup charts as the reason to enter the Wells Fargo Championship, thereby ensuring his competitive run would be five from five between the WGC-Cadillac Match Play Championship and Dubai Duty Free Irish Open. The Royal County Down tournament at the end of this month will be hosted by McIlroy’s charity foundation. McIlroy’s involvement has already boosted the Irish Open beyond recognition. There is a more simple explanation for McIlroy’s competitive surge; he is playing exceptionally well. That much was endorsed by victory at the Match Play and again on Sunday, when he secured the Wells Fargo by seven shots. Saturday’s round of 61 was the finest seen all year in pro golf. Related: Rory McIlroy beats tournament record to win Wells Fargo Championship McIlroy has played 250 holes in three weeks, during which riding the crest of a golfing wave has offset any suggestion of fatigue. FedEX Cup ranking now? Three. “I have accomplished a lot of things over the last few weeks,” McIlroy said. “I wanted to make a push and get up there in the FedEx Cup; even though there’s still a long way to go in that, it’s always nice to see your name up around the top.It’s just a great momentum builder. “Going into the thick of the season, I have still got three majors coming up. There is still a lot of golf, a lot of things to play for, and I don’t feel like my game has ever been in better shape. So I’m excited for the next few months.” That assessment is notable. If McIlroy really is in the best form of his life, a special season awaits. He has already brushed aside any notion that his placing at the top of the world rankings could be under even medium-term threat. McIlroy has admitted for the first time that the level of intensity around the Masters, where he was seeking to complete a grand slam of major championships at the age of 25, perhaps had an impact on what was hardly a disastrous but not winning performance. There has been a freedom around McIlroy since then. “I’m not going to lie, there was a lot of expectation going into Augusta, a lot of hype, a lot of expectation that I put on myself,” McIlroy explained. “It was a great opportunity to do something that very few players in this game have done. I’ll go back next year with the same opportunity. “But, yes, since then I guess a little bit of a weight has been lifted off the shoulders and freed me up not to think about it and just go on and play the rest of the season, play the way I know that I can play. That’s why I’m excited about what’s coming up.” The statistics already make ominous reading for his challengers; in 19 worldwide starts the Northern Irishman has 15 top 10s, a dozen top fives and six wins. McIlroy broke Gary Player’s record of 10 PGA Tour wins by a non-American player with his Charlotte canter. After fulfilling a commitment with Nike in London on Monday, McIlroy turns his attention towards the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth from Thursday. He is the defending champion. “The Wells Fargo wasn’t on my schedule,” McIlroy added. “I make my schedule at the start of the year. Where it fell, I felt it was going to be very difficult to come and play and I felt like I could have given my best but then maybe the two tournaments after that back in Europe would have suffered a little bit because I might have been tired and might not have played my best. “I’ve been trying to manage it. I’ve been trying to stay away from the golf course as much as I can, not spend the time I don’t need to there. I went back home after the Players Championship, I played 18 holes last Monday and nine on Tuesday just because a couple of my buddies were in town and they wanted to go play the the Bear’s Club. Perfect, I’ll go play; you play in a cart. It’s not like you’re taking much out of yourself. It hasn’t caught up with me yet. Hopefully it doesn’t catch up with me in the next two weeks.As I said, I’m going to try to get a lot of sleep in between now and teeing it up onThursday and hopefully I’m ready to go.” |