Meet the golf whisperer who helped Rory McIlroy win his first Masters
Bob Rotella had no idea.
Golf's most renowned sports psychologist, who has been working with Rory McIlroy for years, had been sitting in a quiet room with the 36-year-old star from Northern Ireland in the caddie building at Augusta National, where they had a motivational chat before all four of McIlroy's Masters rounds last month.
When the moment of truth arrived at the end of what unfolded into an epic final round, with McIlroy's name atop the manually-operated white leaderboard, Rotella was floored by what he saw.
We all saw it: McIlroy's final putt disappeared into the cup on 18 to clinch his first green jacket, capture his first major championship in 11 years and complete the coveted career Grand Slam.
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New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Rory McIlroy ducks media after rough first round in US Open
OAKMONT, Pa. — Two players many expected to play well this week, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, flopped in the first round of the U.S. Open on Thursday. McIlroy, who has lost his mojo and motivation since winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam in April, shot a 4-over-par 74, and Lowry struggled worse, finishing with a 9-over 79. Lowry not only entered the week in good form, with a couple runner-up finishes this season, but he was the runner-up the last time the U.S. Open was played at Oakmont in 2016. McIlroy, who has finished tied for 47th at the PGA and missed the cut last week in Canada, seemingly was given a gift by the USGA when it paired him with Lowry, his close friend and fellow Irishman. McIlroy played well early, shooting a 2-under 33 on his front nine, which was the back nine since he started on No. 10. But he got sloppy on the final nine, shooting a 6-over 41 with bogeys on Nos. 1, 3, 6 and 7 and a double on 8, his second-to-last hole. Afterward, McIlroy refused to speak to reporters, a stunt he pulled after all four rounds at the PGA last month. Rory McIlroy didn't talk to the media after shooting a first-round 74 at the U.S. Open. AP He not only refused to come out of the locker room to speak to reporters, but he declined a request by the USGA simply to agree to a couple of statements about his round. Lightning struck early Thursday morning, and it came from a rather unlikely source. Maxwell Moldovan, a 23-year-old qualifier from Ohio, began the day with a hole-out eagle on the first hole, immediately getting to 2-under-par. 'It was a cool feeling,' he said afterward. 'You never really draw up your first hole that way. You kind of try to go fairway, green, two-putt and get out of there.' Moldovan said he hit an 8-iron 191 yards. 'I couldn't really see it, but I heard people start cheering, and then I walked down the hill, and I saw it go in and everybody's hands go up,' he said. When he realized the ball had gone in, Moldovan raised his arms in the air. 'God is good,' he said. 'I just pointed up to heaven above, thank God, because I only hit the shot. He let it go in.' Matt Vogt, the 34-year-old dentist who grew up near Oakmont, caddied at the club for five years and made it into the field as a qualifier, struck the first shot of the tournament with his 6:45 a.m. tee time. He finished with a 12-over-par 82. 'I hope that I represented the city, Oakmont, with pride today,' Vogt said. 'All this has been incredible. I don't want this to be about me this week. I just hope to bring a lot of, I guess, joy to the city. It means a ton. It means a ton to hit that first tee ball. Matt Vogt watches his shot from the seventh tee during the first round of the U.S. Open. Getty Images 'Right now, playing poorly really stings,' he went on. 'I made some really bad mental errors early on, and it's hard out here because you can't make physical and mental errors. You get behind the eight ball here, and honestly, your head starts spinning … and it just gets away from you. 'Honestly, I came in with such optimism for this golf course, but it is so hard. It's just so, so hard. In the moment, you feel like you get punched in the face, but ultimately, I'd say it was fun. I'm trying to have a silver lining on shooting 82.' Phil Mickelson, 54, is the only player in the 156-man field who played in the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Mickelson has the third-most sub-par rounds in U.S. Open history with 26. One of them was not Thursday as he shot a 4-over 74. Si Woo Kim posted the second-lowest score of the morning wave, at 2-under par. He didn't see that round coming after playing practice rounds earlier this week. 'I played three nine-hole [rounds] Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and I don't even know what I'm doing on the course,' he said. 'I was kind of hitting good, but feel like this course is too hard for me. I had no expectation, but I played great today.'
Hamilton Spectator
3 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
At the US Open, Patrick Reed hits the rarest of shots
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Patrick Reed made the third double-eagle of his career Thursday. He's still only seen one of them go in. Reed raised his hands to the sky, wondering what happened when he unleashed a 3-wood from 286 yards in the fairway of the par-5 fourth hole at the U.S. Open. It was a beauty. The ball bounced three times then rolled toward the hole and into the cup. The so-called albatross is considered the rarest shot in golf, with only a few hundred dropping a year, compared to more than 30,000 holes-in-one. Reed said the best one he hit came at a tournament in Germany, when he came out in the morning to finish the last four holes after getting rained out the night before. He had two par 5s left and his wife, Justine, was urging him to attack those and get to 3 under. He parred the first, then made double eagle to close. 'Two hours later, she was back at home and said, 'Way to finish the par 5s,'' Reed said. 'I said, 'Did you actually look at the scorecard?' She said, 'No, I just saw you were at 3 under.' She clicked on it, and just looked at me. Hey, she told me to get to 3 under, she didn't tell me how to do it.' The only one Reed saw came at Dominion Country Club in San Antonio when he was a kid. He hit driver off the deck onto the green while the group in front of him was still putting. 'They turned around and looked at me, then they all started jumping because they watched the ball roll right past them and disappear,' Reed said. 'I didn't know I could get there.' This marks just the fourth albatross at the U.S. Open since the event started keeping such records in 1983. The 2018 Masters champion joins T.C. Chen (1985 at Oakland Hills), Shaun Micheel (2010 at Pebble Beach) and Nick Watney (2012 at Olympic). Despite the 2 on No. 12, Reed finished at 3-over 73 after finishing with triple bogey on No. 18. 'I was doing pretty well there until that last hole,' Reed said. ___ AP golf:
Hamilton Spectator
5 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
After 2 straight missed cuts in majors, Brooks Koepka is in early contention at Oakmont
OAKMONT, Pa. (AP) — Brooks Koepka admitted he's owed his share of apologies over the past couple months. Missing the cut at majors doesn't sit well with him. 'I would say from the first weekend in April until about last week, you didn't want to be around me,' he said Thursday after the first round of the U.S. Open. 'It drove me nuts. It ate at me. I haven't been happy. It's been very irritating.' Koepka's mood should be better if he can produce three more rounds like this. He shot a 2-under 68 at Oakmont, which left him in a tie for third, two strokes behind leader J.J. Spaun . Koepka made a 42-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fourth, and after falling back to even par, he finished with birdies on Nos. 17 and 18. 'I thought I played pretty consistent, drove it really well. Iron play was pretty good. When I did miss it, I felt like I missed it in the correct spots. A couple of good bunker shots,' Koepka said. 'I'm really happy with the way I finished, and hopefully it leads into tomorrow.' Koepka missed the cut at both the Masters and PGA Championship this year. He owns five major titles, but he hasn't finished in the top 10 in one since winning the PGA Championship in 2023 at Oak Hill. His last LIV Golf victory was August of last year. So he's had plenty of reasons to be frustrated. And his coach, Pete Cowan, has had reasons to be exasperated with him. Koepka said Cowan gave him a good scolding in a bunker Monday. '(Justin Thomas) thought he had to come check on me in the bunker. We were in there for about 45 minutes, and he was on the other side of the green,' Koepka said. 'I wasn't happy with it, but it was something I think you need to hear or I needed to hear at the right time. It's not the first time he's done it.' That honesty is important to Koepka. 'I don't like having 'yes' people around me. I just want somebody to tell me the truth, tell me what's going on, what they see,' he said. 'If I start swaying from being Brooks Koepka, then I want someone to call me out on it.' On a day when only 10 players shot under par — and only two finished ahead of Koepka — there was plenty to be pleased with. 'I feel good. It's nice to put a good round together. It's been a while,' Koepka said. 'I've been working hard, just got into some bad habits and bad swing positions. We worked pretty hard last week.' ___ AP golf:
