The Golf

[KingLuba]

I blame Chris Evans.

Did anyone else see him interviewed before tonight's action?
Said he had been talking to Rory last night and had the party all sorted for tonight!!

With our beloved ulstermen losing today and now this...poor Rory!

[ColinM]

Devastated for young Rory, and glad the host broadcaster stopped showing too much of his misfortune & anguish after the 13th.

What doesnt kill you makes you stronger but it will take a while to recover all the same.

[backawaygoonahead]

he doesn't have a chance here. a lot of guys have moved forwards, he has gone backwards faster than our front row against Saints... I really worry about him - are we going to spend his entire career like Sergio Garcia, saying he's too good never to win a Major???

FFS DL I'll give you this, you never miss an opportunity to twist the knife

He is a 21 year old and there have been many players have squandered leads in majors and gone on to become legends. Tom Watson was described by a broadcaster as a choker but then went on to win 8 majors. Arnold Palmer had a 7 shot lead over Billy Casper with 9 holes to play in the US open in 1966 and lost but not many call Arnie a choker.

I don't know if you have ever swung a club but at my best I played off 1 handicap & I can tell you that when the head goes, you can do what you like but you can't get it back on track. That is why great players have meltdowns occasionally when under the greatest pressure. The same happened to Dustin Johnston last year. It has happened many times before and will do again.

Thought Rory's interviews afterwards were a credit to him, incredibly mature. Nobody knows if he will ever win a major, many tremendous players haven't, sometimes they don't get lucky on the day or someone does something special to pip them. Golf is like that.

Rory had trouble finishing off tournament wins early in his career but he isn't alone in that. I trust that at the step up to majors this will have been an experience to make him stronger and he will get there whether once or multiple times.

Like our rugby team, yesterday wasnt his day and like our team he needs support not whinging.

[AndyB]

Well said Goon!!

Keep the faith.

[Jockster]

I blame Chris Evans.

Did anyone else see him interviewed before tonight's action?
Said he had been talking to Rory last night and had the party all sorted for tonight!!

With our beloved ulstermen losing today and now this...poor Rory!

I kind of agree with you here to an extent....Rory doesn't need the 'showbiz crowd' like Evans et al--can only lead to bad things. What next Jonathon Woss and Russell Brand on speed dial!!

Inner strength comes from family and 'real' friends-----not low level "celebrity friends"---that will end with a visit to Celeb Big Brother or Get me outa here within 5 years!!!

[Cap'n Grumpy]

I blame Chris Evans.

Did anyone else see him interviewed before tonight's action?
Said he had been talking to Rory last night and had the party all sorted for tonight!!

With our beloved ulstermen losing today and now this...poor Rory!

I kind of agree with you here to an extent....Rory doesn't need the 'showbiz crowd' like Evans et al--can only lead to bad things. What next Jonathon Woss and Russell Brand on speed dial!!

Inner strength comes from family and 'real' friends-----not low level "celebrity friends"---that will end with a visit to Celeb Big Brother or Get me outa here within 5 years!!!

Interview with Winker Watson coming up on the BBC NI news in a few minutes.

HAS THE POOR LAD NOT SUFFERED ENOUGH IN THE LAST 24 HOURS?????

[Snipe Watson]

Rory is a well grounded youngfella and a massive tallent. He will bounce back from this he needs to work on his putting, but I'd say he is the best ball striker in the game.

Good interview with Winker...he will be fine

[brianc]

DL, you really do talk some tomkite! Rory is the 8th best golfer in the world, (or somewhere around there!!), he is 21 & will win plenty of tournaments. I have known Rory since he was born, grew up with his Dad, & any talk of him being a "choker" is just a bit silly. I think his interviews afterwards were the true measure of the man, he said something about "worse things can happen than playing badly on the last day of a major"

An extremely well grounded young man who found his first attempt at leading a major on the last day a bit too much for him. He wont make the same mistake next time.

Agree with Gooner's comments, (again!!)

[Rooster]

I think his interviews afterwards were the true measure of the man, he said something about "worse things can happen than playing badly on the last day of a major"

Heard that Brian and it was some statement for the young lad to come out with, something like you would hear some of us old fools saying
A very mature thought indeed for a lad of 21 who has lived in the limelight since he went pro, really has kept his head and it's a credit to him and to his parents for the way he was brought up

[darkside lightside]

I am a big fan, I've always loved watching him play, the first 3 days were great, if he had putted half-decently he would have had a 10 shot lead on the final day

BUT

he has been a pro for what 4 years now, he's constantly feted as a superstar to come - in that time he has won 2 tournaments. Or one every 2 years. And what happened on Sunday - some of you golf anoraks probably know better than me but that's the second time he's shot an 80 from a strong position in a major (Open 2010). He also missed out on the chance to win the PGA last year by 3-putting a green near the end.

'Choke' is maybe a loaded term, but all I'm saying is that having watched him over the last few years (and not nearly as much or as knowledgably as most of the people commenting on here - I'm a total armchair fan and a profoundly mediocre player!) I have a nagging doubt in my mind about whether he has whatever it is it takes to drive home an advantage and close out tournaments.. Maybe it's technical rather than mental, I don't know, he certainly seems to be impressively mature and grounded, and I hope I'm wrong...

[ColinM]

He's probably the most naturally gifted player out there, they way he swings the club couldnt be taught.

His putting is undoubtedly his weakness and he normally gets away with it by terrific iron play landing the ball close enough to the pin to make the birdies.

His putting will come in time, with work/coaching/experience. When he starts to putt as naturally as he swings the club he'll come into his own

[Rooster]

Listening on the radio on the way back from the airport on Sunday night the whole thing seemed to go wrong when he ricocheted the ball of a tree in between some cabins, lost 3 shots in getting back out and then had to push to get back and blew it, is that how it happened ?
If that is correct it was 1 basic error that fecked the entire round up as the remainder was a result of the first bad shot.

[ColinM]

Listening on the radio on the way back from the airport on Sunday night the whole thing seemed to go wrong when he ricocheted the ball of a tree in between some cabins, lost 3 shots in getting back out and then had to push to get back and blew it, is that how it happened ?
If that is correct it was 1 basic error that fecked the entire round up as the remainder was a result of the first bad shot.

Sort of Rooster, he triple bogeyed the tenth because of that ricochet, (which was only a yard away from drawing round the corner nicely)

But he also dropped a heap of shots on 11-14, some could be attributed to pushing too hard, but mostly losing the head (3 putting from 2 and a half foot for example)

[WhiteKnightoftheWeld]

He doesn't play a great deal of tournaments. Part of this is based on the thinking that, as a relatively young kid, he's a need to stay grounded and not spend too much time on tour. This however reduces his opportunities to win (RE: the point about only 2 wins thus far); it also reduces his experience of winning and contending.

- The winner of the Masters has won 6-7 tournaments and been a pro for 10 years.
- If Rory were a yank, he wouldn't even be playing professional golf yet - he'd still be in college.

Being a choker is a tag that should only be used if repeatedly Rory collapses as he did on Sunday. Also the point about his round at St. Andrews last year is to be taken with a pinch of salt - the wind conditions were unreal and many other players who were out on the course on the Friday afternoon struggled. Yes - he struggled in the wind and threw away a lead; but don't ignore the conditions then.

This time, even if St Andrews is counted - he raced to the lead on day 1, and then rather than blowing up early, he held on for a further 2 rounds. AND AGAIN - HIS AGE - HE'S ONLY 21!!! In another 2-3 years time and maturity will have made him even stronger.

He'll think hard about it, and he'll analyse closely what his mindset was on Sunday, and what went wrong. I've no doubt he'll get a lot of support from his fellow pros - esp from GMAC who has been in a similar situation and hung on.

Personally - my view is that the caddy could have done a lot more than he did. All through the front 9 he was racing up to the ball, rushing things. A better caddy would have reined him in there. On the first few holes of the back 9, adrenalin and anxiety caused things to go haywire. 3rd shot on the tenth - should he have gone for it - try to belt the life out of a 3 wood to save par? Or would the better play have been to take his medicine - lay up, pitch and putt, and move on without too much damage done? Hindsight's a wonderful thing, but if past knowledge of Rory's game tells you that when he gets nervous, he pulls/hooks the ball to the left (in the words of Lee Westwood), then letting him hit a 3 wood isn't wise.

On the 12th - 4 putts from 10 feet. I didn't see the caddy step in, look at the line with him, try to calm him down.

If Rory was simply focusing on the next shot he'd to hit he would have been fine. Talking over the shot with the caddy - pro and con of each, discussing the break on the line of this putt - rather than having his mind filled with thoughts of the Green Jacket not getting doused in Jaeger Bombs...

18th at Pebble Beach. GMAC laid up with an iron. He wanted to go for the green, his caddy wouldn't let him, or talked him out of it. Lee Westwood regularly praises his bagman and credits him for not making many daft decisions.

Those around Rory know the situation better - I'm only seeing it on TV. But I've seen Rory get hacked off a few times without it turning into a disaster - and he rushes putts, pulls shots, sulks a bit - and his caddy generally stays on the sidelines.

[brianc]

Rooster, the mess on the 10th was really the final straw, he had struggled all the way around the front 9. I thought he hit the wrong shot with his 2nd at the very first hole, chasing a pin where a par would have been great.

Also have some doubts about caddie arrangements at the moment, but not totally convinced that JP is in the wrong. Some players react well to being told what type of shot to play, but Rory is such a confident, natural player that it is porbably difficult to "tell" him what to do, but I would love to see JP slowing him down at times, perhaps suggesting that he walk away from a putt etc.

Still have no doubts at all about him though, be just like him to win next week!