So
reports have just come out that the global superstar Rory McIlroy is not playing in the Par 3 contest
prior to The Masters next week saying its "Too much hassle"
And the amazing thing is no one has batted an eyelid
at this decision. Zero bad press and it seems fine that he is calling one of
the longest traditions in golf a distraction? He didn't seem to mind the
distraction he added to himself last year by having one of the world's most recognizable
faces caddy for him, I'm talking about
his "friend" Niall Horan from
One Direction
I can't
imagine Jack Nicklaus asking John Lennon to take his bag back in the seventies
and then complain about being distracted.
I wonder
if Rory wins the event this year will he pull out of the Champions Dinner next
year because that could distract him too.
The
reason I bring this up is because he seems to be getting away with so much. Be it throwing clubs into water like a little baby or calling the Ryder
Cup an exhibition match. I know he's been world number one and he is a global
ambassador for the game but I scratch my head watching his behaviour at times
and can't believe he is not being pulled up for it. Because for me he sets a terrible example
to all the young kids watching.
Simple
things like giving up when not in contention, at times even raising
eyebrows that he may be deliberately missing cuts because he had no chance of
winning the tournament. I know I mention Tiger a lot in this blog but this was
something we never seen from him in his prime. He just loved to compete.
Watching
Rory getting interviewed after his semi final loss to Jason Day on Sunday a
blind man could see he was done, he did not want to be there. I wonder did he even
ask could he concede his match to Rafa Cabrera-Bello?
In the end he got easily beaten 4&2 and some of the putts he hit you wouldn't see
in your local club on a Saturday morning, just awful. I hope you were like me and
seen his body language in that interview and had a bet on Rafa.
During the 2011 Open Championship he was level par
after thirty six holes and then the wind got up, He shot seven over for the
weekend and ended up twelve shots behind eventually winner Darren Clarke. And
instead of taking it on the chin and rebuilding when he was asked how he felt his response was "I'm not a fan of golf tournaments that are predicted so much by
the weather," and saying he would rather "wait for a year when the
weather is nice" instead of tuning his game to prepare for the Open
Championship. He also added that he would "rather play when it's 80
degrees and sunny and not much wind"
Seems a
bit bitter, nearly child like. But the amazing thing was a few months later he
won the US Open by eight shots.
The one
that I still can't understand and it somehow ended up turning into something media and commetators laughed at was
him throwing his three iron into the water after a bad shot during his second
round in the WGC Cadillac event last year. Telling
reporters after his round "he was in a bad place mentally" , not much of an apology but
with Donald Trump getting involved and sending a diver down to get the club for that
ever important photo op.
Photo Ops
are something Mr McIlroy is very fond
of. At times he nearly looks like a star struck fan . I think its ok if me or you were to bump into someone
famous to grab a photo/selfie but
Rory?
 |
| Mr Grey himself Jamie Doran |
 |
| The Fresh Prince |
 |
| LeBron |
 |
| Ed Sheeran |
For a man
who all of a sudden doesn't like distractions I really think he needs to look
at his life off the golf course and study the likes of Jason Day or Justin Rose. Family men who just grind and are not
too worried about which celeb they hang out with or which party they are at.
All in all
I think Rory's choice not to play in the Par 3 is a foolish one and I wonder
will it be frowned upon by the committee at Augusta National. His defence is
that he missed it in 2011 and it was the best chance he had to win. Although
the way he played the Par 3's on the final day that year he could have done
with the practice....
