Tiger Woods would eventually end the ‘would he/wouldn’t he make The Open’ debate by officially withdrawing from the tournament on 5 July 2011, a week before it got underway at St George’s in Sandwich, Kent. The former World No.1, who had been out of action since mid-May with a leg problem, finally conceded defeat in his race against time to be fit for the event. He said: ‘Unfortunately, I’ve been advised that I should not play in the British Open.’
It would be the second Open he had missed in four years – the three-time champion was also missing at Royal Birkdale of 2008 following reconstructive knee surgery straight after his US Open victory, a month earlier. Woods added: ‘As I stated at the AT&T National, I am only going to come back when I’m 100 per cent ready; I do not want to risk further injury. That’s different for me but I’m being smarter this time. I’m very disappointed and want to express my regrets to the British Open fans.’
But it didn’t change things as far as the punters were concerned – Rory had always been favourite, had Tiger made it. That he didn’t manage to do so made no difference to the odds, as Betfair revealed: ‘Woods was matched at a low of 5.7 to win at Royal St George’s, but had drifted out to around 27.0 before the announcement was made.
‘Given the drift and his anticipated withdrawal, the market has not moved a huge amount since the announcement – Betfair customers unwavering in their belief that Rory McIlroy should go off clear favourite for glory.
‘The US Open champion trades at 7.2 to win the third major of the year – far clear of English rivals Lee Westwood (12.5) and Luke Donald (19.0). Questions have been raised over McIlroy’s preparation by Colin Montgomerie and Padraig Harrington, who have both criticised the US Open champion’s three-week layoff since winning at Congressional. Montgomerie and Harrington believe the attention McIlroy will receive could tire the 22-year-old before he reaches the first tee. “When you’ve won and you go to your next tournament, there are 155 other players and 155 other caddies who want to say well done,” said Harrington.’
Phil Mickelson also pinpointed Rory as the favourite to lift his first Open, saying: ‘He has got the ability to turn it on and shoot low scores. He did that at The Masters and at The Open last year, with 63. And to come out and win the US Open a month ago with some very impressive play, everyone has got to look at what he shoots because he is a threat every week.’
A couple of days prior to the event getting underway two £20,000 bets were wagered on Rory to win The Open. The pressure on the boy was intense but he batted it away with his usual easy-going attitude. In fact, he explained this was one of the reasons why he had taken so much time off before the tournament: to escape the constant limelight.
Rory was all smiles, however, as he arrived at the pre-tournament press conference, making it clear he was glad to be in Kent and that he felt refreshed and was raring to go. He said: ‘First and foremost, I’m very happy to be back at The Open. It’s obviously a tournament I look forward to every year. The first 10 days after winning the US Open it was a bit hectic, trying to see everyone and going here, there and everywhere, but the last 10 days has been good. I’ve got back into my routine, been practising a lot. I was here last week for a couple of days and got two good practice rounds in, so I feel as if my preparation has been really good coming in here. It was nice to relax and sort of take it all in after the US Open but I knew that the time for reflection wasn’t really at this point of the season, it’s at the end. I’ve got to forget about what happened three weeks ago and just come in here and try to win another golf tournament.’
He then defended himself for taking almost a month off, saying: ‘I was scheduled to play in the French Open but if I had played it, I knew I wouldn’t be giving the best of myself or been able to practise or prepare properly. Every event I go into, I want to have a chance to win. I knew my preparation wouldn’t have been good enough going into France to have a chance. So I thought, you know what, let’s just get everything out of the way and make sure that your preparation going into The Open is as good as it could be and that’s really what I’ve done. For me it’s all about preparation. I went into The Masters after three weeks off and shot three pretty good scores there so it’s not a problem to me not playing competitive golf after having a break.’
He admitted he had been surprised by the reaction to his win at Bethesda. ‘I didn’t realise how much of a fuss it would create or how much of a buzz,’ he said. ‘It’s been nice. I thought it was great for me to win the US Open, win my first Major, and the support that I’ve had from people back home, from everyone from all over the world, has been pretty overwhelming. It’s a very nice feeling to have that support walking onto the golf course.’
When asked how he planned to play St George’s, and how his approach would differ from Congressional, he answered: ‘It’s a completely different golf course – it’s firm, it’s fast. But the thing is, with this wind you’re going to have to keep the ball low. But sometimes it’s hard to run the ball into these greens because they’re so undulating and they can go so many different ways. I think you’re going to really need a very strong ball flight, especially if the wind still picks up. I don’t think you’ll be able to run many shots in because, as I said, it can catch the wrong side of a slope and it can go 20, 30 yards away from the green.
‘I played last week on Tuesday and it was basically flat calm. There were a few drivers and then on the Wednesday it was pretty windy, so I got to see the course in two different conditions, which was pretty good. I think this golf course is going to be all about the second shot and making sure that you get the ball in the right position on the green – because the greens are so slopey you’re going to have 25-, 30-footers all day if you do hit them.’
Soon the time for talk was over, it was time for action – and the outcome? Well, I hate to admit it, after previously backing Rory’s stance, but maybe some of the pundits who argued that he had taken too long out of the game were right – or at least half right. Yes, he looked rusty and out of sorts as he stumbled through a tournament that he should probably have dominated, struggling in tough weather conditions, failing to get totally to grips with the course and to battle for a Top 10 spot, let alone take on his old mucker Darren Clarke, who would go on to lift the claret jug. Like Rory in Bethesda, Clarke would prove an immensely popular winner at Sandwich.
Rory got an inkling that it wouldn’t be all plain sailing when he went round in a one-over-par 71 on the first round – which left him six shots behind leader Thomas Bjorn of Denmark. He got off to a stinker, bogeying two of the first three holes but then pulled his game together, making just one bogey and two birdies the rest of the way. ‘I felt after the start that playing the last 15 in one-under was a pretty good effort,’ he would later say. ‘It was a day where you just needed to grind out a score – anywhere around even par was a good start. I holed a couple of nice putts for par and yeah, it was a day where you just needed to grind out a score. Anywhere around even par was a good start.
‘On a day like this, I know better than most people you can shoot a high number and put yourself out of a golf tournament so it was nice to go out and shoot a decent score. I said yesterday if the conditions stayed the same, I’d take two 70s over the first two days and if I shoot 69 tomorrow with similar conditions, I’ll be really happy going into the weekend.’
But did he believe that he would be among the contenders on the back nine on the final round? ‘Yeah, definitely,’ he insisted. ‘I don’t feel as if I have to do that much differently – I just need to keep it tight, keep it on the fairway, hit a few greens and just take birdies here and there because I think that’s going to be the key this week, to keep it around even par.’
It had been noted that Rory was showing more patience in recent tournaments and benefiting from the approach. Had this been deliberate? ‘Yeah, definitely, but that comes from experience. Every time I play a Major or I play an important event or get myself into contention, it’s just a great experience for me heading into the future. It was a great experience last year at St Andrews, shooting 80 in the second round – I learned a lot from it. And it’s building that experience up and learning from your mistakes, that’s been the biggest improvement for me this year.’
Rory upped his game on the second day, carding a 69 that left him just four shots off new leaders Darren Clarke and American Lucas Glover, with US PGA champ Martin Kaymer and overnight joint leader Thomas Bjorn among a four-strong group a shot behind. He was naturally delighted for his former mentor Clarke, 42, saying, ‘It’s brilliant. This sort of golf really suits his game – he’s grown up on links and he likes to play different shots. It’s the sort of week where you’ve got to just manage your game very well and he’s good at doing that, hitting different shots and changing the trajectory. It’s good to see him up there. He’s doing a bit better than me at the moment, but I’m planning on changing that.’
Meanwhile, Rory admitted that his own round had been ‘a grind’ and the course was tough-going: ‘It was a grind. Even though it was sunny and looked nice out there, it was very tricky. The course is playing a lot firmer, a lot of crosswinds, and to shoot something in the 60s today I’m very pleased with. It would have been nicer to be a couple better, but I’ll take that going into the weekend. I’m very happy with my position and within striking distance of the leaders.
‘Everything is working pretty well. It’s just a matter, as I said yesterday, of keeping it tight and not hitting too many loose shots and keeping it around par because with the weather coming in tomorrow, something around that score is going to be very close. It’s the same for everyone and there’s only seven shots separating this field; it’s very open.
‘I think you’ll see a lot of chopping and changing at the top of the leaderboard, but it’s the most open Open I’ve seen in a long time. I think it’ll be exciting to be a part of, and it’ll be exciting to watch over the next two days.’
It would be exciting to watch and play in – but not for Rory as he bombed during the final two days at Sandwich. His only consolation would be watching lifelong pal Clarke win his first Major. Rory would shoot a disappointing 74 in the third round at Sandwich, a total that, realistically, meant he would have to wait at least another year – and Lytham – to scoop his first Open in Britain.
Once again, he would blame the bad weather. A year previously he had blown it at St Andrews with that 80 in the wind and rain, now he would follow up with the 74 – in the wind and rain. But it was pointed out that his 4-over-par card was actually nearly a stroke and a half below the field average (75.412) despite a double bogey-7 at the 14th hole when he hit his tee shot out of bounds.
‘You’ve got half of Kent on your left and you hit it right, it was a bit disappointing,’ he would say of his tee shot at the 14th hole. ‘When the weather is that bad, you seem to lose a little bit of your rhythm or a little bit of your timing. And when the weather is like that, if your timing is off a little bit, it can magnify the misses.’
He was nine strokes off the pace and knew it would take a miracle for him to go on and overwhelm Clarke, who was now setting a pace he would never relinquish. Rory being Rory he refused – in public, at least – to throw in the towel, however. ‘What did Paul Lawrie come back from? Ten shots?’ he asked at the post-round press conference, a reference to the Scot’s final-day recovery at Carnoustie in 1999. ‘Well, it’s been done before, so I’ll just have to keep the hope. If the conditions are decent, I could see myself going out and shooting maybe 4-or 5-under, and getting in the hunt. If the conditions are similar to what they were this morning, then it’s going to be very tough.’
And the forecast? More rain and wind…
Rory spoke a little more about his day’s exploits (or lack of them), adding: ‘It seems in this tournament, you need to get a good draw and it just hasn’t really worked out for me this week. It was really tough out there this morning and I felt for the first 13 holes to get through those in 2-over-par was a pretty decent effort. And then to give two shots away on 14 was very disappointing. I tried to make a couple of birdies coming down the last four holes, but wasn’t able to do it and I think 74 was the best I could manage.’
It was suggested he lost a bit of self-belief at the 14th. ‘Yeah, I mean, you’ve done so well for 13 holes to keep yourself in it and then it was a tough one to take. It’s a big setback. I obviously wanted to go out and get myself closer to the lead and not further away from it; I wasn’t able to do that today. I’ll need a good one tomorrow, and if it doesn’t look like I can win, I’ll try my best to get a Top 10 or a Top 5.’
At least he was upbeat at seeing Clarke edge ever closer to his first Major. ‘Yeah, it’s fantastic! He birdied the 1st hole today, which was good. He’s waited a long time to win that Major and it would be great if this week was the week where he could get his first one.’
Clarke shot a one-under 69 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round and to put Northern Ireland in position to claim its third Major championship in a little over a year. ‘If somebody had given me 69 before I was going out to play, I would have bitten their hand off for it,’ he conceded. ‘We did get very fortunate with the draw. Sometimes to win any tournament the draw can make a big difference but in The Open Championship, it makes a huge difference. We got very lucky.’
And he knew there was a lot of work still to do. He stood at 5-under 205, with Dustin Johnson just one shot behind after his second straight 68. And Rickie Fowler, also with a 68, was on 208, tied with first-round leader Thomas Bjorn. While Clarke would now go on to triumph, Rory was to curse the weather and his own bad luck: he would finish with a 73 for a plus-seven total of 287. That would leave him tied for 25th – a disappointing outcome after he had arrived at Sandwich with high hopes of glory.
In comparison Clarke would win the tournament with a 5-under total of 275, three shots clear of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, who tied for runner-up. Bjorn was 4th on 279.
The Daily Mail best summed up the nature of Rory’s loss at Sandwich: ‘As the wind and rain swirled across the Kent coastline on Saturday, Rory McIlroy’s hopes of a double Open triumph were blown away like a sailor in distress. In contrast to the gloriously sunny temperatures in the mid-eighties at Congressional – where the 22-year-old Ulsterman played near-flawless golf to win the US Open and anointing as the new superstar of his sport – McIlroy was confronted with some of the worst weather an English summer can conjure and slid out of contention at the 140th Open Championship.’
Rory did not try to disguise his disappointment at the outcome but again made it clear he felt the bad weather had played its part: ‘It’s been a tough week for me. I felt like I did well the first couple of rounds and I just struggled a bit in the bad weather at the weekend. I’m not a fan of golf tournaments where the outcome is predicted so much by the weather – it’s not my sort of golf. I’m disappointed with the way I finished obviously, but I’ll just have to wait until next year to try and make a good run at this tournament.
‘I’m looking forward to getting back to America, playing in Akron, and playing in some nice conditions. Obviously the PGA and the Irish Open is a big one for us as well – it’s a week that I enjoy.’
Had he come to Sandwich with the right attitude; that he would win even if the weather happened to be bad? ‘Yeah, of course – all I was trying to think about was winning this tournament. There’s no point in coming in thinking I’m the US Open champion, I’m going to do well – you can’t really think like that.’
The pertinent point, that he might have to get to grips with the bad weather if he were to one day win The Open, was put to him: ‘Yeah, it’s either that or just wait for a year when the weather is nice. No, I mean, my game is suited for basically every golf course and most conditions but these conditions I just don’t enjoy playing in, really – that’s the bottom line. I’d rather play when it’s 80 degrees and sunny, and not much wind.
‘Obviously Clarke is so good in this weather that it’s not surprising to see him up there. Mickelson is playing great. He’s played a lot of these Opens and tried to adapt his game to it, so there’s a little bit of experience that comes into it.
‘I obviously have high expectations myself and I know if the weather had have been a little better this week, I probably would have been able to contend a bit more but it’s just the way it goes. All the amateur tournaments I’ve won were played on links courses, but they were all relatively calm so I just play better and my game is more suited to calm conditions. Just glad I’m in the clubhouse, I’m just glad I’m in!’
So, would he now take another break before the Irish Open – or would he practise more? ‘Hopefully, if the weather is decent at home, I’m going to spend a few days getting my swing back to where it needs to be. The wind messes it up a little bit, so I’ll work for two or three days just working on it and getting it back into a nice groove. Then I’ll take it easy and head to the Irish Open next week, or the week after.’
He then added that he would now be leaving his press conference and heading for the clubhouse, where he was determined to lift his spirits by cheering Clarke on to that first Major. His final quotes of the tournament were to stress exactly what a win by Clarkey would mean for Northern Ireland, as well as he himself: ‘It’ll be a very emotional victory for a lot of people. He’s had to go through a lot of things and it’s almost as – especially back home in Northern Ireland – he’s the forgotten man a little bit, with Graeme doing what he did last year and then me coming on. So it would be fantastic to see him win, it would be great.
‘He’s been fantastic [to me]. He’s been a great friend. He always sends me texts when he’s not playing, he sent me texts all week at the US Open and he’s been a great help. Anything I’ve needed or wanted to know, he’s always been on the other end of the phone, which has been a great help for me.’
It would now prove Rory’s major consolation in a weekend in Kent that had promised so much and delivered so little. As his friend roared to the victory he so richly deserved, he clapped and cheered him on. To add to his three previous rounds of 68, 68 and 69, Clarke closed with an even par 70 to lift the claret jug for the first time. For the previous 10 years, he hadn’t contended in a Major, hadn’t even been eligible for the last three Majors and was no longer listed in the world’s Top 100, but just as Rory’s win at Congressional had proved so popular with the masses so now would Clarke’s. The man himself had an explanation as he gave an interview with the claret jug by his side: ‘I’m a bit of a normal bloke, aren’t I? I like to go to the pub and have a pint, fly home, buy everybody a drink, just normal. There’s not many airs and graces about me – I was a little bit more difficult to deal with in my earlier years and I’ve mellowed some, just a little bit, but I’m just a normal guy playing golf, having a bit of fun.’
Steven Howard, chief sports writer on the Sun, best caught the spirit of Clarke’s victory: ‘There can rarely have been an Open triumph quite as popular as this one. Well, perhaps if Tom Watson had sunk THAT putt at Turnberry two years ago. This, though, was one to cherish and one that will be remembered for a lifetime by all those at Royal St George’s yesterday.
‘Darren Clarke, Open champion. How does that sound? Probably the best-received victory since the late, great Seve Ballesteros, who died earlier this year, won at Lytham in 1988. One that was roared along by a gallery who still couldn’t quite believe it even as it became more and more likely.
‘And one that was firmly linked to Seve when, just before Clarke finally got his hands on the claret jug, there was a long and heartfelt round of applause from a packed 18th-green crowd for the triple Open winner. And all under a fluttering Spanish flag.
‘The embraces for Clarke from rivals Phil Mickelson, Thomas Bjorn and Miguel Angel Jiménez also showed the huge regard in which the Ulsterman, a special member of the golfing fraternity, is held.’
As Clarke won the tournament, Rory tweeted: ‘Northern Ireland. Golf capital of the world!!’ Clarke was told about it and, even in his moment of supreme glory, found generous words for Rory, the young man he had helped to become a potential golfing great. ‘We’re blessed to have two fantastic players in Rory and G-Mac,’ Darren said, ‘and I’ve just come along, the only guy coming along behind them. We have fantastic golf courses, we have fantastic facilities, but to have three Major champions from a little, small place in a short period of time, it’s just incredible!’
Of course, there was much analysis and a good deal of toing and fro-ing about why Rory had messed up at Sandwich when he had been expected to stroll to victory. My view remains that he simply does not like the bad weather, that it hinders his progress. It is a failing and one he will surely have to deal with by spending more time practising in those very conditions that drive him to despair (and make him drive to despair). Otherwise he would seem a natural candidate to become a more active member of the PGA Tour, where the weather is normally certainly more to his liking – and where he often seems to produce his best golf.
Yet one other possible reason for his blow-up would emerge in the days following the tournament. For it was revealed that he had split from his long-term girlfriend Holly Sweeney, one of the constant, steadying influences on his life, before The Open. A statement released by his management team on the Monday after the tournament confirmed the two were no longer an item: ‘Rory McIlroy’s long-term relationship with Holly Sweeney came to an amicable end before the British Open,’ it said.
Then, just days later, it emerged that Rory was now dating the world’s top tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who at 21, was a year younger than him. The Daily Mail reported: ‘[They] fell for each other after they were seated together to watch David Haye and Wladimir Klitschko in Germany on July 2. The pair were clearly infatuated with one another from the start, as they began publicly flirting on Twitter.
‘When Rory’s management confirmed his “amicable” split from Holly last week, he embarked on a new romance on the final day of the British Open. The night before she tweeted him to wish him luck in the tournament. After their original meeting, Caroline wrote on Twitter: “Fantastic fight! Also met Rory McIlroy, who was sitting just behind me:) Really down to earth great guy:)” He responded with birthday wishes on July 11, joking: “You’re getting old.” She suggested he could buy her a legal drink in the US now she was 21.’
My opinion is this was all media tittle-tattle and Rory was far too professional to let his private life infringe on his golf – he just had a bad week at Sandwich, fuelled by the poor weather conditions which he was at least honest enough to admit he detests any time, anywhere. But some golfing fans felt he had taken his eye off the ball with Caroline. One summed up the general feeling that, like any young man, he could be distracted if he didn’t keep his concentration 100 per cent on the game at which he excelled: ‘Rory McIlroy should stick to practising with his golf bats rather than running around after girlies and attending boxing matches. He is a good golfer but doesn’t need to be distracted.’ Another said simply: ‘Rory, forget about the tweeting and concentrate on your golf!’
In essence, the gossip was irrelevant. As I say, I am convinced it did not – and never would – impinge upon his game. But the interest served one useful purpose in epitomising just how far the young, hopeful, dreamy boy from Northern Ireland had come. No longer simply the property of Ireland, he had become headline news across the globe. His every move was about to be analysed and dissected by a press and public hungry to learn every minute detail about the life of the youngster who had pushed golf back onto the front and back pages for all the right reasons after the very public humiliation and downfall of its former golden boy, Tiger Woods.
Some would continue to say Rory McIlroy had rescued golf at a time when the sport badly needed a saviour and in so doing, he had relinquished his own privacy and become one of the most famous sportsmen in the world.
We were now entering the era of Rory McIlroy, superstar.