Rory McIlroy spent much of 2013 in professional turmoil. By the time he shot 79 in his first round at the Open Championship, he admitted to feeling “brain dead” on the Muirfield links. He had already withdrawn from the Honda Classic. An equipment change was taking its toll. So, too, was a weight of expectation created in part by an eight‑shot win at the 2012 US PGA Championship.
By autumn of 2014, McIlroy had added another two major championships to his CV. He admitted last week to watching YouTube videos of the Open of nine years ago, where the range of shot-making has taken a now 34‑year‑old McIlroy by surprise. It seems preposterous that Rory McIlroy may have to convince Rory McIlroy how good he is but we are living in the weirdest of golfing times. This should not be about what he was. Instead, what he is and can be.
