Afterthoughts and after effects

Beer! Its whats for winners!

     Predictions concerning newly crowned U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy's future seem to be running toward the messianic in the two short days since play in the 111th playing of the national open ended.  Though I'm not prone to crowning the lad the next dominant player just yet, I do think there's one area in which we can safely say he is about to dominate: Rory McIlroy is going to be the most sought after endorser since Tiger Woods quipped "Hello world."  Potential sponsors are undoubtedly beating down the door of McIlroy's agent, Chubby Chandler, and tossing piles of potential money around in the hope of buying space on his cap, shirt and golf bag.  Though he may not have the cross-culture appeal of a young Tiger, Rory is a can't miss prospect for any company hoping to capitalize on his much deserved popularity.  Chandler was heard to comment during Rory's post win press conference, "He's just as good in that seat as he is on the course," and that is one of the keys to McIlroy's potential endorsement riches.  Look for continuing breaking news where this matter is concerned.

     Another young golfer who continues to impress is the runner up in the year's first two major championships.  Australian Jason Day is showing a knack for getting in to the hunt and not backing down when the action heats up.  In four career majors, Day has finished in the top ten three times.  He could easily have had a major or two under his belt had it not been for Charl Schwartzel's four consecutive birdie finish and Rory McIlroy's otherworldly play.  Day may want to consider changing agents and enlisting Chubby Chandler, who represents both Schwartzel and McIlroy, as well as reigning Champion Golfer of the Year, Louis Oosthuizen.

     Speaking of Chubby Chandler and his major championship mill, it's interesting to contrast the atmosphere and feel of his agency, ISM, with that of the premier American agency, IMG.  It seems to me that ISM is run by Chandler to have a more collegial, avuncular approach than that of its American counterpart.  IMG has a reputation for enriching it's clients, sometimes at the expense of their career longevity due to the rigors of travel and the frequency of appearances.  It will be interesting to see if this trend continues long term.

     For future U.S. Opens, the rota is now scheduled through 2019, and there's reason for some excitement and some curiosity.  In order starting with 2012, the venues will be Olympic Club in San Fransisco, Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, Pinehurst #2 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, Chambers Bay in University Place, Washington, Oakmont Country Club in Oakmont, Pennsylvania, Erin Hills in Erin, Wisconsin, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Shinnecock Hills, New York and Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble beach, California.  Merion and Olympic are returning to the rotation after long absences (1981 for Merion and 1998 for Olympic) and Chambers Bay and Erin Hills are both hosting their first ever professional tournament, having opened withing the last five years.

Rory, Rory Halleluiah

     All week long, Rory McIlroy kept his head whilst all about him were losing theirs.  The 22 year old from Northern Ireland dusted the 111^th U.S. Open field in record fashion finishing at 16 under par, eight strokes ahead of runner-up Jason Day, and surviving the largest media driven hype-storm since some guy by the name of Eldrick had a pretty good tournament at the 1997 Masters.

     For the most part, the cyclone of hyperbole surrounding McIlroy during the tournament was predictable, even if it reached farcical proportions by the time the press conferences ended on Sunday night.  Given his epic final round collapse at the Masters in April and the torrid pace he set from the opening round 65 he carded on Thursday, it was inevitable that the Tiger starved golf media machine was going to flog every conceivable “Rory story” line to death, ranging from the dire “Rory gory” predictions of collapse to the divine “Rory glory” predictions of an historic career taking wing.  Even some of his fellow players got caught up in the hype machine, with Padraig Harrington predicting McIlroy would break Jack Nicklaus’s professional major championship record based on his performance that week.  One presumes that Harrington meant McIlroy would break the record later in his career, rather than somehow being awarded 19 major titles based on an admittedly stellar week of play.

     At the center of it all was this sprightly, mop-topped kid with the grown up game who calmly went about dismantling a very tough Congressional Country Club layout.  Despite the weather challenged course’s conditioning difficulties (the local area experienced hot, dry weather in the weeks leading up to the tournament and rain the week of the tournament, exactly opposite the desired pattern), Congressional’s  Blue course played tough for everyone in the field not named McIlroy, despite much softer that normal conditions..  No, McIlroy gave in neither to the hype nor to the supposed demons that his final round collapse at Augusta spawned to torture his young psyche, and simply turned in the best score ever seen in the 111 times the U.S. Open has been contested. 

 

     For all his brilliance inside the ropes, his best performance may have been in handling the public and the media during the week.  After every round, and with increasing hysteria, McIlroy was questioned about the influence of his Master’s final round, the increasing sense of inevitability concerning his strong play turning in to a win and what he felt his future level of success in major championships would be.  At every turn, Rory was humble, down to earth, humorous and solidly grounded.  His answers were polite, frank and he refused to be drawn in to the realm of speculation.  He pointed out that he had learned some lessons about himself at Augusta and was trying to apply those lessons to his play during the present tournament, that until the final putt dropped he hadn’t won anything or really accomplished very much, and that his major total stood at a total of one after that final putt did drop.  It was a performance that was refreshing for its genuine tone, especially in an age where so many agent coached athletes give only canned and often grudging answers when questioned by the media.

     The simple fact is, Rory’s performance last week needed no hype to be compelling and spectacular.  His golf was sublime and afforded a rare glimpse at an athlete in the midst of a transcendent performance.  At the same time and under intense pressure and scrutiny, this very young man allowed us to see how much fun he was having and was gracious and funny when questioned about the experience.  Rory’s future is, like that of all athletes and especially like that of all professional golfers is uncertain but wide open; an unfinished work in progress that fills all fans of the game with hope and anticipation.  Only time will tell what the future holds for Rory McIlroy, but mindless speculation will only sully the eventual result.  Even if the future holds no more major championships for Rory, he has still placed a shining example of skill and sportsmanship in the trophy case for us to admire.  If more come with time, let’s resolve to admire those as well and as they come.  Trying to label Rory as the next Jack or next Tiger won’t make them any more enjoyable, and may well take some of the fun out of the discovery.

Photo courtesy ESPN