Talk of the Tour: McIlroy Searches for Answers as Augusta Looms
Where in the world is Rory McIlroy? No, not a Waldo spin-off, although the game that made Rory the world #1 last year has certainly been hard to find. Rory needs a fresh start. His 2013 has featured a missed cut in Abu Dhabi, a first-round loss at the WGC Match Play in Tucson, a meltdown and walk-off in the Honda Classic, where he was defending champion, and an uninspired performance WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral, though a final-round 66 did earn him a T8 finish.
After that he raised eyebrows by choosing to accompany girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki to a Miami tennis event rather than playing the Arnold Palmer Invitational, where Tiger Woods took back the top spot in the rankings and Arnie didn’t hide his displeasure at the young Irishman.
So on to Houston, to Redstone CC, which advertises itself as the perfect place to tune up for The Masters. A T45 left McIlroy searching for answers. He was a last-minute entry into this week’s Texas Open, where he will once again be the field’s star, even as he navigates his own dark night.
Maybe the $200 million Nike paid him to switch clubs is making him soft. Maybe his prima donna girlfriend is making it hard to keep his mind on the course. Whatever it is, the most recent “successor” to Woods is now playing catch up, and anyone who has tried to close in on a Tiger lead knows it is no easy task
