How a pep talk helped Rory McIlroy overcome disastrous front nine
Rory McIlroy believes it's a good time to back him to win The Open, after bookies rated his chances of victory at 20-1. (0:32)
5:40 PM ET
Jason SobelESPN Senior Writer Close
- Covered golf since 2004
- Former writer at Golf Channel
- Winner of four Emmys while at ESPN
SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy had no confidence. He was nervous, even a bit timid. He admitted it later — that he started his opening round of The Open Championship unsure of himself and unsure of his game. After missing the cut in three of his past four starts, maybe that was to be expected.
He bogeyed the opening hole — hardly a sin, considering how difficult it played Thursday — then received an earful from caddie J.P. Fitzgerald on the second tee.
"You're Rory McIlroy," Fitzgerald told him, with maybe a few more colorful words included. "What are you doing?"
At the time, McIlroy simply mumbled, "Whatever," but after the round, following a roller-coaster day with massive ebbs and flows, he credited that pep talk for his eventual turnaround.
"It definitely helped," McIlroy admitted after a topsy-turvy 1-over 71. "It kept me positive, so he did a great job."
Editor's Picks
Peacock Poulter gets his strut back at Birkdale
He doesn't know he does it, but you can tell when Ian Poulter is in the mood simply by the way he walks. However, his opening round of 67 at Royal Birkdale on Thursday belied the hard road he had to take to even be there.
Caddie Confidential: What makes The Open unique
What makes The Open so difficult to navigate? Why did Round 1 start out with a surprise? An anonymous caddied takes you behind the scenes for the inside story at Royal Birkdale.
The Open tournament schedule, scores and coverage
Get dates, TV schedule, news coverage, live scores and results on ESPN for The Open at Royal Birkdale.
2 Related
That help, though, wasn't immediate. After a par on the second hole, things quickly unraveled. Mistakes led to misfortune, misfortune led to more mistakes. Before he could barely take a breath and consider the situation, McIlroy was already 5 over through six holes and 10 strokes off the lead after espousing optimism one day earlier.
If the pep talk aided his mindset, a par putt on the eighth hole was crucial for his momentum.
"There's a big difference between 5 over par and 6 over," he'd later explain. "That was big."
Momentum savers to keep from posting a front-nine score in the 40s — he turned in 5-over 39 — aren't what elite players usually have in mind at major championships, but in McIlroy's case it proved to be vital.
After a front nine during which he never sniffed birdie, he posted a back-nine, bogey-free 4-under 32 to give that previous optimism a reason to return.
"I could be standing here and hit 18 greens and shot 1 over and missed every putt and feel terrible," McIlroy explained. "But because of the way I started, I actually feel really positive."
In fact, he likened it to another event that worked out pretty well for him.
"It's a bit like Ryder Cup at Medinah in '12; we're 10-6 down on Saturday night, but we feel like we were right in with a chance because we won the last two points," he recalled about Europe's come-from-behind win the next day. "Even though there's a lot of golf left, in other circumstances it might have been a disappointing day. But just with the way I finished, I feel really good about it."
After a two-putt birdie on the par-5 17th, McIlroy holed a 30-footer for birdie on the final hole, one that was punctuated by an enthusiastic fist pump.
It left him just a half-dozen strokes shy of tri-leaders Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Matt Kuchar, but with an early Friday tee time and the worst weather expected later in the day, he's enjoying a renewed sense of confidence.
"I still feel I'm in the golf tournament," he said. "If I can go out and play a good quality round of golf in the morning and try to get in the clubhouse somewhere around even par, under par, I'll still be around for the weekend."
He might even do better than just be around.
McIlroy has a knack for easing his way into events and improving his play as he continues. A victory would recall a performance by Tiger Woods at the 1997 Masters, when he opened with a birdie-free, front-nine 40 only to triumph three days later.
If it happens, even if he just climbs back into contention, McIlroy will still be crediting a pep talk and a par saver, two essentials in turning around his opening round.
Sponsored Headlines
CommentsView Original Article