The challenge of slowing down for fast rising McIlroy
British world number eight Rory McIlroy is a richly talented young golfer who is in a hurry but he readily accepts he needs to heed the words famously preached by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966.
|Last Updated: Aug 12, 2010, 09:44 AM IST|Source: Bureau
Kohler: British world number eight Rory McIlroy is a richly talented young golfer who is in a hurry but he readily accepts he needs to heed the words famously preached by Simon and Garfunkel in 1966.
The American duo`s whimsical "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin` Groovy)" begins with the line "Slow down, you move too fast" and McIlroy knows this should be his mantra."Sometimes it is hard for me to accept you`re not going to have a good day all the time," the 21-year-old Northern Irishman told reporters on the eve of this week`s U.S. PGA Championship.
"That`s something that I`m still learning -- trying to accept the days that don`t go as well as others do."
"Everyone tells me: `Rory just be patient,` but it`s hard to do that. It`s only my third year as a pro and the success has come quite fast. You don`t really want to slow down."
Widely tipped as a future world number one, McIlroy clinched his first PGA Tour victory in scintillating style at the Quail Hollow Championship in May, closing with a course record 10-under-par 62.
He again stunned the golfing world when he fired an opening 63 in last month`s British Open at St. Andrews, equalling the lowest round in a major, before ending the tournament in a tie for third.
That finish matched his joint third place in last year`s PGA Championship at Hazeltine National and was a welcome return to form after missed cuts at the Masters and U.S. Open earlier this season."The first two majors were obviously disappointing, but the third one at St. Andrews was a big boost," said McIlroy, who will be making only his ninth start in a major at Whistling Straits this week.
"Hopefully I can follow that up with another good week here. I feel I am coming into this event with some good stuff. Hopefully I can just keep that going for the next few days."
McIlroy tied for ninth in last week`s WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, an elite event just one rung down from the majors.
Should he be in contention coming down the stretch in Sunday`s final round at Whistling Straits, the mop-haired professional from Holywood is confident he will be able to handle the pressure.
"(It`s all about) patience," McIlroy said. "That`s the hardest part -- getting yourself into position. At Quail Hollow, I held off Phil Mickelson and (Angel) Cabrera down the stretch, and they are two major champions."
"So if I can do that on a golf course like Quail Hollow, then there`s no reason why I shouldn`t be able to do it here. I know it`s a little bit different, it is a major, but the idea is the same."
McIlroy is scheduled to tee off with American world number four Steve Stricker and Australian Adam Scott at 1315 local (1815 GMT) in Thursday`s opening round.
Bureau Report
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