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The golfer’s resilience is not only evident on Sundays, when the chips are low and the yips are up and concentration is most forgiving. Just the fact that Rory McIlroy is in contention for the final round again should be celebrated.
Except that the world number 3 knows that, for him, success is not measured by being in the mix but by being in the winner’s enclosure. And so, for the second time in as many weekends, he will attempt to remove the tag he himself recently pinned to his polo shorts – “The Nearly Man”.
McIlroy “almost” won the US Open in June, “almost” won the Scottish Open the following month and “almost” won the Irish Open seven days ago, after going two without foul with four remaining. “It’s a familiar story in my career,” he said after a bogey-free 66 moved him to 15 under and tied for second, three behind Matteo Manassero.
“I have setbacks and I usually recover from them pretty well. Some are obviously harder than others, but I think in this game you have to recognize that you’re going to lose a lot more than you win, and you have to accept that. I’ve definitely been on the side of acceptance this year.
There is so much motivation for McIlroy to win and not just so he can change the narrative on this second half of 2024.
“I’m basically a Wentworth resident because we’re having a house built here,” he said. McIlroy and his wife Erica plan to settle in this exclusive estate, so their daughter Poppy can eventually attend school in Surrey. “It’s a special place for me because I came here when I was 11 to watch my heroes at the World Match Play.”
Major incentive
And therein lies another element of incentive. The last and only time McIlroy won this title was in 2014 and a few months later he won his third and fourth majors at the Open and USPGA. A decade later, it remains stuck at four. This event – which holds DP World Tour “flagship” status – is part of that glorious summer and he might think it would be an exorcism of at least one demon.
“I’ve gotten closer to here in the last few years,” he said. “I finished second behind Shane [Lowry] two years ago and there have been other good opportunities. I love being here and it would be amazing to have my name on the trophy again.
Which brings us to the fans he wants to reward. If they were impressive last week in Royal County, they were just as impressive here, especially this Saturday where the showers were regular. The pros always say “the galleries were wonderful,” but that was anything but a favor on McIlroy’s part. They chanted “Rory, Rory, Rory” as he walked up the hill to the clubhouse in scenes akin to those of a major label.
“It’s amazing,” he said. “Last week, this week, the Scottish Open, The Open… it’s so good to come back here and play golf. I really enjoyed this year, more than other years for some reason. I will try to win this silverware, but the way Matteo plays it will be difficult.
The remarkable resurrection of Manassero
If McIlroy’s resilience showed by rising so quickly every time he was knocked down, Manassero rose from an athletic grave. A brilliant teenager, he became the youngest person to win on the European Tour – at 17 at the Castello Masters – then three years later he won in this tournament. The extraordinary highs continued to come when he broke into the world’s top 25 at the age of 20.
However, as he strived for more length, what he called “the deepest hollows” ensued. In 2018, he lost his Tour card. In 2019 he lost his card on the Power Tour Challenge and in 2020 he was ranked 1,805th in the rankings. This charming gentleman from Verona didn’t think it was over and he launched a remarkable comeback.
He ended his 11-year drought at the Jonsson Workwear Open and sits inside the top 10 in the Tour’s order of merit and within striking distance of a return to the all-important world top 50. That third-round 63 was just the latest evidence of a 31-year-old’s stunning resurrection.
“What a story,” McIlroy said. “Be like a young person [phenomenon] then lose your game, and go play the Alps Tour and back. I guess that’s the character you need to do that. [It’s] fantastic to see him back in his place.
Another former champion, Billy Horschel, will join McIlroy and Manassero in the final group and the American’s 65 – with seven birdies in a row – highlights his danger. For his part, McIlroy was due to go to Wembley last night to see Anthony Joshua against Daniel Dubois. Stepping off the canvas may never seem more appropriate.
