‘Now I want the Claret Jug’

February 5th, 2009 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Putting Biomechanics

By Karl MacGinty - Irish Independent

Thursday February 05 2009

THE hoodie had a big California surf motif splashed across its front; his jeans were suitably faded and the baseball cap featured a Mexican beer. Rory McIlroy’s fashion statement came through loud and clear at Holywood Golf Club yesterday as he looked forward to more than two weeks of chilling out with his pals. All’s calm after his desert storm. Gerry and Rosie McIlroy’s world-famous son was a teenager once again… until he started talking about his plans, his hopes and his ambitions.

Sunday’s dramatic one-stroke victory over Justin Rose and an elite field at the Dubai Desert Classic propelled McIlroy to No 16 in the world, forcing him to reset his sights for 2009. Now he’s aiming for a place in the World top-10. “If I win the Accenture Match Play in a couple of weeks’ time, that’ll get me up to fifth,” he said with a chuckle. Clearly, McIlroy’s been doing his sums — these days his dreams have a hard mathematical edge.

When the kid with everything was asked what wish would he like granted in 2009, he paused for nearly 30 seconds before replying quietly: “Win a Major.”  If he could pick one? “Win The Open, that would be awesome,” he continued. “After Harrington’s two, it’d be nice to keep the Claret Jug in the country for another while. “To be honest, I’d take any one of the four Majors,” added McIlroy, before his pragmatic side took charge: “In fact, I’d just take another win.”

Having seen McIlroy’s name linked to Tiger Wood’s in so many headlines since Sunday, the world now expects miracles from a 19-year-old who has played just one Major — the 2007 Open, where he joined Harrington on the podium as winner of the Silver Medal for leading amateur.

Crazy

He’s never been to Augusta National, where he makes his US Masters debut in April, nor Turnberry, venue for The Open in July, which he said “seems crazy because you can almost see it from here.” As for June’s US Open at Bethpage, McIlroy watched on TV as Woods won there in 2002, and he’s tamed The Black Course on his PlayStation. He also remembers Hazeltine, where Harrington defends the Wanamaker Trophy in August, for Rich Beem’s 2002 PGA victory, while his friend Richie Ramsay of Scotland won the US amateur title on the Minnesota track.

McIlroy has a wealth of information on this year’s Major venues but, in golf, actually seeing for oneself is akin to believing and it’s no coincidence that Sunday’s breakthrough win on Tour was achieved on his fourth visit to The Desert Classic and on an Emirates Club course he was playing for the umpteenth time.

In the past seven months, however, golf has learned never to say never where this young Ulsterman is concerned. Since linking up with canny Irish caddie JP Fitzgerald and Harrington’s putting guru Dr Paul Hurrion last summer, McIlroy has leapt over 160 places up the world ladder.

“I went to Paul Hurrion because Harrington goes to him and Padraig holes everything,” he admits. “He changed my set-up, changed my grip, changed everything. The way I used stroke it, I could get on a run and be very streaky but I wasn’t as consistent. My pace putting has really improved and so has my holing-out from six feet.”

Fitzgerald has been calming and inspirational on many occasions. McIlroy cited the 17th green in Dubai last Sunday, saying: “JP crouched down beside me when I was reading my putt and said ‘big players love these situations. You’re a big player. This is why we are here’. It was great for him to say that.

“Ever since JP’s been on the bag, I’ve played really good. He’s been a big part of the success I’ve had over recent months.

“If some aspect of my game isn’t so good any day, we’ll sit down over lunch and discuss what we did well or didn’t do so well. I might say my half-shots weren’t so great so he’ll say ‘let’s go work on them on the range. He’s very good in that way.” Yet McIlroy is still very much his own man, as he displayed when an elderly male reporter baldly asked “on behalf of female fans, what about the hair?” “I haven’t had it cut since Switzerland and I’ve played great,” retorted McIlroy, unabashed. “I might just keep it.”

Like Hercules, this reporter suggested. “I think you’ll find that was Samson,” McIlroy corrected. Nice shot kid. Now I know what Justin Rose felt like!

Karl MacGinty

http://www.independent.ie/sport/golf/now-i–want-the-claret-jug-1628232.html

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