By Rahul Banerji
Eight players battled for the lead on the final day of the Players Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida on a cold Sunday afternoon, and at the end there was Rory McIlroy.
The 29-year-old Ulsterman not only had to fight off the resurgent David Duval to win his first title at TPC Sawgrass by one shot but overcome a double-bogey and a bogey along the way, closing eventually with a 2-under par 70 and a 16-under 272 (67, 65, 70, 70) aggregate.
It was his first win in 12 months, the last coming almost exactly a year ago at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and his first Players title.
In his last five starts this year, McIlroy has been in contention almost every Sunday and yet not found himself in the winner’s circle. Inevitably, there was talk suggesting he choked on the big moments.
This time, there was to be a different end to the story.
So, what changed? At his post-victory press conference, McIlroy was almost pensive, taking time to marshal his thoughts before replying to questions, some of which were very direct, from the assembled golf writers.
Presented here is a selection of McIlroy’s thoughts, many of them not so much about his victory per se, but about his growth and development, and the process that led to the point where he was able to go on and chalk up a 15th PGA Tour win.
On the win:
“This is probably the deepest field of the year, with so much on the line. I’m thankful it was my turn this week.”
On the final two holes at Sawgrass:
“All I wanted to do was step up, hit a little flighted hold 9-iron over that (par-3 hole 17) bunker. My thing was it was the first good swing of three swings I needed to make to win the tournament.”
On past such scenarios:
“I don’t believe in anything really, but I think the golf gods will reward you for just making a good, committed swing. And any time I have a tough tee shot, I stand up, I pick my target and I swing as hard as I can. And it usually works out because you’ve committed to it, you’ve got a clear head.
“The last two days I’ve piped it down 18 by just remembering that tiny little thing from Hong Kong (when he went for broke on a difficult hole at the 2008 Hong Kong Open and trusting his club, a 3-wood).”
On his low-key demeanour:
“Of course, I desperately wanted the win today, but it’s just another day. It’s just another step in the journey. I’ve been preaching perspective, and I feel like I’ve got a pretty good handle on that perspective.”
On his development over the years:
“I came here as a 19-year-old in 2009, missing the cut and getting kicked out of bars in Jax Beach for being underage. So I’ve come a long way in those 10 years. I came on Tour and all I wanted to do was keep my card. And from there, you grow and you learn and you become a better player, and you realise that there’s a lot more that you can achieve.
“I think all the experience I’ve racked up over those first 10 or 11 years means that I’m way more prepared for these next 10.” ”
On not being able to close out victories recently:
“I think all the experiences I’ve had over the last few weeks in terms of trying to win and not getting over the line definitely helped. Maybe if I hadn’t had those experiences, I wouldn’t be sitting up here with this trophy. I’m thankful and grateful for those experiences.”
And let Tiger Woods – who had an off week in finishing joint 30th – have the final say on conditions at TPC Sawgrass.
“This is probably the most stressful golf course you ever play when there’s wind out here. The wind swirls and you have fairways that are tough to hit and then you have the greens that are tough to hit and put it in the right sections, and if you don’t, you’re going to be standing on your head hitting some shots.”
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