become one of the greats of the game.â
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and his Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness weighed in with their tributes, Mr Robinson saying: âRory McIlroy has become the first golfer from Northern Ireland to win a second major. His golfing talent knows no bounds and who knows what heâll achieve in his career.â
Graeme McDowell led the plaudits from the Irish professionals adding: âHeâs going to be a superstar of the game, which he is already, but a real superstar. Heâs going to be the player that kids look up to. I mean heâs got great attitude, great charisma and great character. Thatâs pretty much it in a nutshell. Heâs great for the game â an absolute breath of fresh air for the game.â
Padraig Harrington compared him to Tiger Woods, saying: âRoryâs proving that when he plays well, he plays like Tiger. Tiger turned up for a few years and if he brought his A-game, the rest of us struggled. Rory is now showing that with his A-game, everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him.â
Who better to have the final words on a fantastic major win (during which he beat Jack Nicklaus record margin of victory for the USPGA) than Rory himself. At the post-event press conference, he was asked what it meant after his efforts since his US Open win.
Wide-eyed like a child looking up at Santa Claus, and glaring up lovingly at the huge silver Wanamaker Trophy less than a foot away from his shoulder, he explained what had unfolded since the US Open win:
I think I made it very clear that I wasnât too happy with how Iâve performed in the majors since the US Open. I didnât really contend. Last Wednesday [eve of USPGA], I just talked about giving myself a chance and to be honest, thatâs all I wanted to do. I feel these days that when I give myself a chance to win one of these big tournaments, I can draw on the memories of Augusta, of Congressional and here today, and know what I did out there and so know what to do again. Thereâs quite a bit of relief to get the second one out of the way.
Then it was all over. Confined to another page of history and statistics. As for Roryâs next port of call? He flew to celebrate the win with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki who was playing in a tennis tournament in Cincinnati.
Chapter 5
Possessed
I n the seemingly never ending see-saw world rankings battle with Luke Donald, Rory regained the number one spot again after his USPGA triumph. On 10.35 points to Donaldâs 9.59, Rory actually let his true feelings known about that scenario when he revealed:
To win my second major and get to number one all in the same day is very special. I have had a little taste of it switching back and forth with Luke a couple of times. I went back down to number three and back to number one now. Itâs nice. Itâs something that completely wasnât on my mind. I just wanted to go out and try and win but itâs a great bonus.
On the subject of how he would rate his game, Rory was asked what grade he would give himself for the season. Without any hesitation he responded emphatically:
âA1â. I heard Tiger Woods once say that to have a good season, you need a major championship. Now Iâve had two great seasons in a row, no matter what happens from here on in. Hopefully I can play some great golf from now until the end of the year. And get myself ready for another great season next year too.
When Rory returned to the US Tour on 23 August, exactly two weeks after his stunning USPGA win, very few who know the game expected him to win The Barclays. It is extremely rare for a major winner to turn out and win in their next event.
It is a fact that being a major winner means that wherever you go, and whenever you pop your head out, people rush to smile, offer handshakes and blurt out their well wishes of congratulations.
This is particularly in
Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson and his Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness weighed in with their tributes, Mr Robinson saying: âRory McIlroy has become the first golfer from Northern Ireland to win a second major. His golfing talent knows no bounds and who knows what heâll achieve in his career.â
Graeme McDowell led the plaudits from the Irish professionals adding: âHeâs going to be a superstar of the game, which he is already, but a real superstar. Heâs going to be the player that kids look up to. I mean heâs got great attitude, great charisma and great character. Thatâs pretty much it in a nutshell. Heâs great for the game â an absolute breath of fresh air for the game.â
Padraig Harrington compared him to Tiger Woods, saying: âRoryâs proving that when he plays well, he plays like Tiger. Tiger turned up for a few years and if he brought his A-game, the rest of us struggled. Rory is now showing that with his A-game, everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him.â
Who better to have the final words on a fantastic major win (during which he beat Jack Nicklaus record margin of victory for the USPGA) than Rory himself. At the post-event press conference, he was asked what it meant after his efforts since his US Open win.
Wide-eyed like a child looking up at Santa Claus, and glaring up lovingly at the huge silver Wanamaker Trophy less than a foot away from his shoulder, he explained what had unfolded since the US Open win:
I think I made it very clear that I wasnât too happy with how Iâve performed in the majors since the US Open. I didnât really contend. Last Wednesday [eve of USPGA], I just talked about giving myself a chance and to be honest, thatâs all I wanted to do. I feel these days that when I give myself a chance to win one of these big tournaments, I can draw on the memories of Augusta, of Congressional and here today, and know what I did out there and so know what to do again. Thereâs quite a bit of relief to get the second one out of the way.
Then it was all over. Confined to another page of history and statistics. As for Roryâs next port of call? He flew to celebrate the win with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki who was playing in a tennis tournament in Cincinnati.
Chapter 5
Possessed
I n the seemingly never ending see-saw world rankings battle with Luke Donald, Rory regained the number one spot again after his USPGA triumph. On 10.35 points to Donaldâs 9.59, Rory actually let his true feelings known about that scenario when he revealed:
To win my second major and get to number one all in the same day is very special. I have had a little taste of it switching back and forth with Luke a couple of times. I went back down to number three and back to number one now. Itâs nice. Itâs something that completely wasnât on my mind. I just wanted to go out and try and win but itâs a great bonus.
On the subject of how he would rate his game, Rory was asked what grade he would give himself for the season. Without any hesitation he responded emphatically:
âA1â. I heard Tiger Woods once say that to have a good season, you need a major championship. Now Iâve had two great seasons in a row, no matter what happens from here on in. Hopefully I can play some great golf from now until the end of the year. And get myself ready for another great season next year too.
When Rory returned to the US Tour on 23 August, exactly two weeks after his stunning USPGA win, very few who know the game expected him to win The Barclays. It is extremely rare for a major winner to turn out and win in their next event.
It is a fact that being a major winner means that wherever you go, and whenever you pop your head out, people rush to smile, offer handshakes and blurt out their well wishes of congratulations.
This is particularly in
Similar Books
