All eyes on Masters champion Rory McIlroy ahead of US PGA
'I'll leave it up to the golf gods to deliver the script,' suggested the famed US broadcaster, Jim Nantz. 'They've been quite prolific so far at their creative writing.'
Just like this correspondent's output then? Or maybe not.
Rory McIlroy's historic win at Augusta feels like yesterday. It is, in fact, just over 30 days since the Northern Irishman slipped into the green jacket and completed the career grand slam amid an outpouring of tearful emotion that just about caused flash flooding down Magnolia Lane.
There's certainly been plenty of flooding in the build up to the second men's major of the season in North Carolina this week.
Monday practice was almost a complete washout with no spectators allowed on site at all. Not quite Quail Hollow, more Sleepy Hollow.
It's all systems go now, though, even though Mother Nature was still flinging down great basin-loads of water on the eve of the 107th staging of the PGA of America's flagship event.
It's 15 years now since McIlroy won the first of his 29 PGA Tour titles at Quail Hollow. This neck of the woods will always hold a special place in his golfing heart.
'Those things stay with you,' he said of a venue where he has won four times in total down the seasons.
'I think part of the reason that I've played so well here since then is that I had that positive momentum and those positive memories. Every time I come here, those good feelings get rekindled.'
This week, of course, McIlroy is returning as a golfer unburdened by a major malaise. As well as polishing off that career grand slam, his Masters success also ended an 11-year title drought in the game's marquee events.
At last, he is arriving at a major championship free from heaving the kind of overbearing weight that would've buckled the legs of Hercules.
If you'd said in the aftermath of his fourth major win at the PGA Championship back in 2014 that he wouldn't win another for over a decade, you probably would've been strapped to a gurney and wheeled into a padded cell.
With those shackles off, many eager observers are predicting that McIlroy will now go on to win this, that and the other.
The man himself, meanwhile, is not thinking about winning this, that or the other. He just wants to savour the mighty and historic accomplishments of a truly remarkable career.
'I feel like I sort of burdened myself with all the career grand slam stuff, and I want to enjoy this,' said the world No 2, whose haul of five majors is now just two shy of Europe's most prolific major champion, Harry Vardon.
'I want to enjoy what I've achieved, and I want to enjoy the last decade or whatever of my career, and I don't want to burden myself by numbers or statistics.
'I have achieved everything that I wanted. I've done everything I've wanted to do in the game
'I dreamed as a child of becoming the best player in the world and winning all the majors. I've done that. Everything beyond this, for however long I decide to play the game competitively, is a bonus.'
Whatever the future holds, that April Sunday at Augusta will be hard to top. 'I'm still going to set myself goals,' he added.
'I'm still going to try to achieve certain things. But I sit here knowing that that very well could be the highlight of my career.
'I want to still create a lot of other highlights, but I'm not sure if any other win will live up to what happened a few weeks ago.'
The sight of McIlroy collapsing on the 18th green after his play-off triumph over Justin Rose and sobbing into the turf will be one of golf's enduring images.
It's been replayed so many times already across all sorts of platforms, the footage just about needs restored by film conservation experts.
McIlroy is not one for pressing play and rewind, mind you. 'I've tried not to watch it a lot because then I just remember the visuals of the TV rather than what I was feeling and what I was seeing through my own eyes,' he said.
'I've never felt a release like that before, and I might never feel a release like that again.'
Who knows what those golfing gods have scribbled into the script this week.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Steven Davis still harbours Rangers manager dream as fairytale Ibrox reunion rumours set straight
The Northern Ireland number two had a brief stint as Gers interim boss in 2023 Steven Davis has come to terms with the fact he didn't get to wave goodbye to Rangers with his boots on. But the former Light Blues skipper isn't ready to give up yet on his dream of stepping back over the Ibrox threshold one day wearing a pair of managerial brown brogues. It's two-and-half years since the Northern Irishman kicked his final ball for the club he loves. A freak ACL tear suffered in training just before Christmas 2022 ended what was a glittering playing career for club and country. Despite the four-time Scottish title winner's best efforts, there was no fairy-tale comeback nor a chance to bid farewell to the Gers support from the pitch he had graced so elegantly over two spells in Glasgow. That might have stung the 40-year-old once upon a time but these days he's accepted the rotten luck that brought the curtain crashing down on his spell as British football's most capped player ever. Now working as an assistant to NornIron boss Michael O'Neill, he's looking to the next stage of his career. He's already had the briefest of tastes of what it would be like to manage Rangers having been drafted in for a two-game stint as Ibrox caretaker in October 2023 in between Michael Beale's sacking and the appointment of Philippe Clement. And that's only fired his desire to get back to Govan and take the acclaim of the Light Blue legions, this time as boss himself. Looking back on the end on the injury that ended his career, Davis said: 'To be honest, I've got over it. 'You try to put a different spin on it. For me, I was very fortunate throughout my career not to have major injuries, and that allowed me to play to the level I did until the age I was. 'Of course, in an ideal world, I would liked to have said my goodbyes in a different way and have that decision being my own. 'But that was taken away from me. I tried my best to try and get back, but I never felt I would go back to the level I would be happy with. 'So ultimately, the decision was made, and I was kind of at peace with that, but of course it would have been lovely to have a send-off on the pitch rather than do it on the sidelines.' The sidelines is now where he sees his future - and hopes he'll get to perch himself on the whitewash marking off the technical area at Ibrox. The WhatsApp rumours that swept Glasgow last month suggested that dream was set to take a step closer, with Davis apparently lined-up to return as No2 to Steven Gerrard. The gossip proved false in the end as Russell Martin got the call to replace Clement. But it's undeniably true that Davis sees his future back at Rangers. 'There was never any contact, to be honest,' responded Davis as he was quizzed on the Gerrard whispers. 'Obviously, I was getting a lot of messages and everybody thought it was a foregone conclusion, but that's the rumour mill, isn't it? 'For me, obviously, the club means so much to me. I've got great memories from my time there. It's hard to envisage that I'll not be back at some point in the future, but you just never know in football. 'I'd like to assume that will be the case but at this minute in time, that's not an option, so we'll see what the future holds. 'Is that still the dream? One hundred percent. I think it's the same as when I was a kid. 'Obviously, I grew up a Rangers fan and got to play for the club. The ambition was to make just one appearance. Obviously, my career involved much more than I could have ever have envisaged. 'But at this minute in time, I'm at the starting part of my journey as a coach. 'I've been involved with Michael and the Northern Ireland team, which has been really good for me. I'm doing my badges as well, so that's just part of the process. But we'll see what the future holds. 'Ultimately, one day it would be great to be step back into Ibrox as manager.' Davis's short stint in charge involved a Europa League defeat to Aris Limassol and win over St Mirren. It didn't last long but it was a valuable insight into the demands of one of the most demanding roles in football. 'Oh it was huge,' he said. 'Just to get the opportunity to be put in that position was obviously something you could never refuse. 'It wasn't in my mind at that time. I was fully focused on rehabbing and trying to get back to play. That was my only focus. 'But it came out of the blue and it was an opportunity that I absolutely loved. It whetted the appetite in many ways. It gives you a taste of what the other side's like and it's totally different. 'As a player, you have a sort of feeling of what management and coaching will be like, you don't get a full grasp of it until you're really in it and see it, the detail that goes into the preparation for everything. 'It was a really valuable experience for me and hopefully something that I can carry with me going forward. In many ways that was probably a blessing that I was just throw in at the deep end. I just had to go with it. 'I tried to give it my all during the time that I was there. It was only short-lived but it was an incredible experience to get at that time. 'You just try to do the best to your ability. Around the club at that point and all the players, there was a lot of negativity so I just tried to go in and be positive. 'We only had the two games before the international break, when Philippe then came in. But it was really invaluable for me to get that experience.' :: Davis was speaking as he helped promote 10 Years On - a celebratory event taking place at Belfast's Ulster Hall on May 2, 2026, marking next year's anniversary of Northern Ireland's Euro 2016 campaign. For tickets go to
Evening Standard
2 hours ago
- Evening Standard
How to watch the US Open: TV channel and live stream today
He said: 'I'm sort of just taking it tournament by tournament at this point. You dream about the final putt going in at the Masters but you don't think about what comes next.'
Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
‘Man up and get on with it!' – Scots golf legend in astonishing blast at players moaning about US Open rough conditions
COLIN MONTGOMERIE has told the elite golfers who are unimpressed with the tough conditions at the US Open this week to "man up". Oakmont is playing host to the third major of the golf season this week and the rough in particular is brutal. 4 The rough at Oakmont will make things extremely tough st the US Open Credit: Getty 4 Colin Montgomerie had a few choice words for unhappy golfers at the event Credit: Getty 4 The rough is being kept to a uniform five inches by an army of lawnmowers Credit: Getty 4 Tyrrell Hatton takes a shot from the rough during a practice round Credit: EPA It was measured at around five inches deep but the United States Golf Association (USGA) trimmed it down after a series of complaints from the game's top players. The Pennsylvania track is renowned for its difficulty even under normal circumstances - with a reputation as perhaps the hardest golf course in the world - with narrow and sometimes sloping fairways, a litany of penal bunkers and tricky and undulating greens (with a few blind approaches). But things have been ramped up for the US Open, with the greens running even quicker and the rough allowed to grow thicker than usual. An army of lawnmowers have been sent out to keep the rough in check as star players opined that the average amateur golfer wouldn't even FINISH their round. Recent Masters winner Rory McIlroy revealed he shot an 81 (11 over par) in practice, two-time US Open champ Bryson DeChambeau called it "the hardest course you can play right now" and Jhonattan Vegas, who led the PGA Championship last month, went as far as to call the rough "unplayable". But Monty is having none of it. A three-time US Open runner-up - including one at Oakmont in 1994 - Montgomerie said players these days have no excuse for missing the fairways and landing in the suped-up rough. He pointed to improvements in equipment compared to his day and said only harsh winds would be a valid reason for errant shots. Speaking at at Trump International Golf Links, ahead of the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship, Montgomerie, 61, said: 'I was disappointed at the USGA having to cut the rough a wee bit because it was too severe. '[Compare] technology now from 30 years ago. US Open release incredible video of army of lawnmowers to tackle rough as stars brand conditions 'unplayable' 'The golf ball that we were playing with 30 years ago moved around all over the place. It was soft, it went 20 yards shorter. 'Now, the golf club development, the drivers, the irons, the putters, look at the putters now, the development in the putters. 'So, get on with it. For Christ's sake, you've got technology there that is beyond what you would ever, ever dream of. 'Use it and play golf. I mean, at this level, you shouldn't be missing any fairways, unless it's blowing a gale. 'The research and development that's been poured into the game, man up. Yeah, get on with it.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
