Rory McIlroy - A new dawn

It is only January and Rory McIlroy is in Abu Dhabi for what will be his first competitive appearance of 2009. Sitting in the clubhouse overlooking the 18th green his expressive face, for once, appears serious and thoughtful. Not for long though. The mere mention of what lies almost exactly three months ahead of the young Ulsterman has that familiar broad smile creasing his pixie-like features. For McIlroy, at the age of only 19, Augusta National beckons.

“When I started out last year I have to admit the Masters wasn’t really in my mind,” he concedes. “My aim was simply to improve as a player and move gradually up the rankings. I was doing that slowly but surely until I hit an eight-to-ten week spell where I played really well. I was inside the top-10 nearly every week. It’s amazing how quickly you move up when you do that. So making it to Augusta is a bit of a bonus for me.

“Having said that, I’m really happy to be going. Playing in the Masters is a goal for all of us on tour. It has always been one of my ambitions and I’m delighted to be going at such an early stage in my career.”

Like everyone else with even a passing interest in golf, McIlroy has been a devoted viewer of the year’s first major ever since he was, well, even younger than he is now. His first Masters memory, in fact, is of sitting in his pyjamas on the family couch watching Greg Norman implode against Nick Faldo in 1996.

“I was seven,” he recalls with another big smile. “It was a special treat for me to stay up that late. I remember Norman throwing away the big lead. I watched every shot one year later when Tiger won by 12 shots. I actually won a bit of money on him. My Dad put £5 on him to win for me. I can’t remember the odds but I’ve still got the tape! And I can reel off all the winners since then. I’ve watched it my whole life really.”

Prompted into thinking ahead a little – not what your average tour pro likes to do, given the sports psychologist’s mantra of ‘stay in the present’ – it is clear that this enormously talented and endlessly pleasant young man has already given the matter of the Masters some consideration. Who wouldn’t have?

“I’m looking forward to the whole experience really,” he continues. “The drive up Magnolia Lane will be awesome I’m sure.

I can’t wait to play in the par-3 tournament on the Wednesday afternoon. And standing on the first tee on the opening day will be a memorable moment. But most of all I want to see and play Amen Corner just to see what it is like in the flesh.

“I hear the course changes dramatically from Wednesday to Thursday. They are good at that sort of stuff. I’m pleased to hear they are taking a bit of yardage off the course from last year. And I know they have redone a couple of greens. Hopefully that will help get the course back to what it was a few years ago. I loved to watch the Masters when guys were making birdies and eagles on the back nine.

“It used to be that, if you were leading going into the back nine on Sunday, level par wasn’t ever going to be good enough. At least one guy would overtake you. But that hasn’t happened the last couple of years. It’s been a bit dull really. So it would be nice to get back to what it was before.”

As for the specifics of the course that is easily familiar to golfers the world over through the magic of the cathode ray tube, McIlroy is again like everyone else: he can’t wait to get there and see for himself. Georgia is definitely on his mind. “I’ll be especially interested to see the front nine,” he says. “It used to be that we never saw those holes on television. Now I am a bit more familiar with the first few holes. But the back nine is awesome. I think the 13th might be the best hole in the world and the stretch from the 11th tee to the 13th green might be the best three-hole stretch in the world. The 12th green will be another highlight. Not many people get too close to it during the Masters.

“I’m a bit biased towards the ‘old’ Augusta as my game is more suited to being a bit more aggressive and making birdies rather than tough pars. Everyone has told me that my higher ball flight will help too, especially if the greens get very firm. “The biggest thing though is not getting too negative on the greens. I know the greens are fast and have huge slopes but you still have to try and make putts on them. The last thing I want to be doing is just hitting and hoping. Position is key, too. I know that 25 feet below the cup is nearly always better than eight feet above it. That’s the advice Ernie Els has given me: never be negative on the putts; it is so important to be positive.

His key is to imagine he is putting on any other green on any other course. I’ll be looking for more advice when I get there!” That is a sensible course of action, one recommended by many. Defending Masters champion Trevor Immelman is just one who has had a little help from his friends ever since he made his Augusta debut back in 1999.

“Rory is such an impressive player – I love his carefree attitude – that I’m sure he doesn’t really need much advice,” says the South African. “But, having said that, it is tough to figure out Augusta on your Masters debut. There is a lot to get used to. So he should get there early and look around. Playing practice rounds with past champions in their 50s or guys who play well there isn’t a bad idea either. Their advice can be invaluable. On my first time I played with Gary Player and Ernie. They were both so helpful.”

By the time all of that happens, however, McIlroy will have used his newly earned world top-20 status – courtesy of that fantastic maiden victory in Dubai – to gain valuable PGA Tour experience. Given the volatility of sponsor’s invitations, things may have changed by April but he intends to play as many as half-a-dozen times before and after his debut in an American major championship.

“I’m going to play more in the States this year,” he says, that expressive face brightening yet again. “I’ve always wanted to do that. I’ll play a four-week stretch if I get an invitation to LA. I’m already in the Match Play, the Honda Classic and Doral. Being in the top-50 makes a huge difference to my schedule. After two weeks at home I’ll go back to play in Houston, at the Masters and at the Heritage. Then, assuming I stay in the top-50, I’ll be back for the Players Championship.

“I hope to be able to play both tours in the coming years. I’ll never abandon Europe. This is a great tour, one that is getting stronger and stronger. With the Race to Dubai in place, it is a real alternative to the PGA Tour. They were great to me when I was an amateur, too.”

No wonder. Right from the moment McIlroy sprang to international prominence in the 2007 Open Championship at Carnoustie, it was obvious this was someone special. There, the wee Belfast boy who looked 14 and played like a veteran, first charmed the galleries then made off with the silver medal awarded to the leading amateur. Even through the inevitable gloom created by weather sadly typical of many a Caledonian summer, broad smiles, not least his own, followed the young Ulsterman seemingly everywhere.

No wonder. While he neither bounced up and down the famous old fairways, nor stereotypically jigged across the world’s television screens, it was a close run thing. Indeed, you got the feeling he could have and would have done both, given half a chance in a less public forum. Put it this way, in any production of ‘Winnie the Pooh’ he would definitely be Tigger.

So clearly, this was a boy having the fun of his life in the sort of arena his innate and enormous talent made it inevitable he was born to star in. The toothy grin, the tousled mop of hair above the brow unlined by a game he has always found so easy, the smooth, rhythmic and fearless swish through impact; all were there to see during an Open won by one Irishman but stolen by another.

“Rory is a super lad,” says the only-briefly overshadowed Padraig Harrington. “He really does have a very good attitude. He’s confident but he’s a nice guy, he’s nice about it. There’s a very good balance there. I think that’s a very strong point for him. I think his game is excellent. He’s a guy who is going to mature and get better and experience big things, all of which will be positives for his game. I don’t think there are too many golfers who wouldn’t like to be where Rory McIlroy is.”

Perhaps even more impressive than his tie for 42nd place at Carnoustie was the speed at which, after turning professional one day after the Walker Cup at Royal County Down, McIlroy earned his playing rights on the European Tour. In just his second start as a professional, he finished a remarkable third in the Dunhill Links Championship, winning enough cash to guarantee his card for the 2008 season. His breakthrough victory looked to have arrived at Crans-sur-Sierre, right up until the moment he missed a tiddler on the 72nd green, and he was again denied in a playoff in the UBS Hong Kong Open. But all that, of course, is history following his performance in the Dubai Desert Classic, where he produced some stunning golf – and demonstrated some serious bottle when he needed it – to win his first tournament.

“I can’t say his immediate success came as any surprise,” says Walker Cup skipper Colin Dalgleish. “While Rory always seemed to be at ease with everyone, there is a hard edge to him on the course. There is no way he could have achieved what he has without that.”

Ever modest, McIlroy did admit to not seeing himself as a European Tour cardholder quite as soon as he was. “I’m surprised at how fast everything has happened,” he conceded at the time. “But I’m not surprised that I have done well. I knew I was capable of doing well on the European Tour. But the speed of it has taken me aback a bit. To get my card in such a short space of time is incredible. I’m loving being on tour.”

One man who has eased the way for McIlroy in the often big, bad world of professional golf is Darren Clarke. The pair, both natives of Northern Ireland, also share an agent in Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler.

“I first saw Rory in his early teens,” recalls Clarke. “I knew instantly he had a special talent and truly believe he can go as far as he wants in the game – he’s that good. All the components of his swing are there and he has the character and dedication to go all the way.”

Another impressed with the McIlroy technique is a man who knows a thing or two about golf swings, Bob Torrance. The hard-to-impress Scot, who transformed Harrington from journeyman pro to three-time major champion, is effusive.

“Rory has a brilliant swing,” enthuses Torrance. “His swing is very natural and has a great flow to it. There are no flops or flips. It’s oily. I don’t see any weaknesses. I just hope he leaves it all alone. He asked me about his swing when he was still an amateur. I told him to stay away from coaches and keep doing what he is doing. He is a natural golfer and needs to be left to find his own way. The last thing any coach should do is bugger about with such a natural golfer. I love to watch him play.”

Don’t we all.