Rory McIlroy

Davidth88

Ok, he has just broken into the top 50.....

How good is this guy ? Do we ( the europeans/Irish/GB+NI depending on your standpoint ) have someone we can hope to cheer wining The Open/ Masters etc in the medium term future ( 2-4 years ?? )

f22

I've seen him play as an amateur on many occasions and you could see even back then he was a class apart. First year on tour and very unlucky not to be a winner on a few occasions.

When he eventually gets that victory I think the floodgates will open. He's been eyed for many years by the likes of Faldo and Clarke as something really special.

As far as I can recall his old man placed a bet on him to win the Open before the age of 25 or something. The way he's playedon his maiden European Tour year it looks a possibility.

SalthillGuy

He may not win the open, or a major.
Very few European golfers have won a major.
He will be a great player - world class.
Propably top 10 in 3 - 4 years.
A good bet for the next Ryder Cup.
It takes a few years to settle into the routine of the tour.
He seems level headed and determined.

Blunder

He's good. Dont think he has the mental ability to win a major in the next few years. I've no doubt that he will win a major and that he will win in the next few seasons. There are plenty of good young golfers out there that will be vying to win tournaments so it wont be just as easy as he thinks.

He's playing good at the moment but I'd like to see what way he'll react if his game goes south. He hasnt really had the experience of that yet in his career.

He'll definately be a major part of the european tour for the next 20 years. I've a feeling though that he will head to America too.

stockdam

He's an exceptional player. The shot he hit at the last playoff hole on Sunday shows that.

He is still learning though and needs to learn how to keep his game under control when things aren't going the best. At this stage it's as easy as aim and shoot and he isn't afraid of loosing (that's the hardest thing.......when you have blown it and then fall apart the next time).

He's a nice lad and will definitely be in the next Ryder Cup team.

Sandwich

Davidth88 wrote: »

Ok, he has just broken into the top 50.....

Do we ( the europeans/Irish/GB+NI depending on your standpoint ) have someone we can hope to cheer wining The Open/ Masters etc in the medium term future ( 2-4 years ?? )

No. Highly unlikely, despit him being a fine talent, to win one within the next 4 years would be extraordinary.

For him to win one in 10-15 years time would be a more likely prospect. (look at how long it took the likes of other similar early starters to win one - or not as the the case may be : Mickelson, Garcia, Rose, Faldo, Clarke, Rafferty, Davis Love III, Scott Verplank, Stewart......). Apart from the freak that is the Tiger, majors just arent really won in the early twenties, and slim enough in the late 20s. The 30s is where it happens. By and large.).

Trampas

He is good there is no questions about it.

He didn't thrown the Hong Kong open away like he did in Switzerland.

He seems to have a good team behind him and good players to learn from.

shanks8

Rory has got the game from tee to green to win many majors but at the moment he is a very ropey putter..he dosent sink enough 5 - 10 footers....if he gets the putting sorted Augusta will suit his game ( high tragectory for those short par 5's)

SalthillGuy

He has settled in well. Better than most would have predicted. It was a huge step-up from the amateur ranks.
Competinig for a major is another step -up.
He needs a few years to settle at the level he has reached before winning a major.

madds

SalthillGuy wrote: »

He has settled in well. Better than most would have predicted. It was a huge step-up from the amateur ranks.
Competinig for a major is another step -up.
He needs a few years to settle at the level he has reached before winning a major.

+1. I'm very impressed with is demeanour on the course and believe as he comes to grips with the demands of playing on what now is a World Tour, he'll start to contend in some of the bigger tournaments with better quality fields.

I would have loved to see him play with McDowell in the World Cup this week. What was the qualifying criteria for this? Surely McIlroy had a better season than McGinley?

stockdam

madds wrote: »

I would have loved to see him play with McDowell in the World Cup this week. What was the qualifying criteria for this? Surely McIlroy had a better season than McGinley?

It's done by World Rankings. Although I think there's a rule about the top 50.......I think (but I'm not sure) that if there's only one player in the top 50 in a team then he can nominate who he plays with.

I don't know when the team was selected but I would have thought that both Clarke and McIlroy would have been above McGinley but maybe the team was selected 6 months or so ago??? However all three would have been outside the top 50 so maybe McDowell or somebody selected McGinley.

Mr. Larson

He is 200/1 to win the Masters. Ok he hasn't qualified even at this stage, but I'm definitely gonna have a €5 each way on that one just for the laugh.

WHIP IT!

stockdam wrote: »

He's an exceptional player. The shot he hit at the last playoff hole on Sunday shows that.

OH MY GOD! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I didn't get to see any of the golf last week and have just, for the first time, seen McIlroy's shot on the last playoff hole. What a Golf Shot!

The newspaper report I read on Monday was pathetic! It said something to the effect of "after pulling his tee shot into the trees, McIlroy could only find the front of the green"!!! - One of the shots of the year and that's all the idiot had to say about it!!

Trampas

The BBC sports website pundit is questioning can he win one.

He is only a pro a year and you have idiots like that making comments. He put Oliver Wilson in the same sentence with his number of 2 seconds.

I remember the same been said for Harrington also (Not same person).

What is with the Ireland/UK press they like knocking down people instead of encouraging them

WHIP IT!

Trampas wrote: »

The BBC sports website pundit is questioning can he win one.

He is only a pro a year and you have idiots like that making comments. He put Oliver Wilson in the same sentence with his number of 2 seconds.

I remember the same been said for Harrington also (Not same person).

What is with the Ireland/UK press they like knocking down people instead of encouraging them

That's ridiculous.... If 7/8years down the road he still hasn't won and has a long list of second-place finishes then maybe it might be time to question his 'ability to close' or whatever... but a rookie season with two second-place finishes is a FANTASTIC debut!!

SalthillGuy

All of the play-off was exceptional.
It was reported as one of the most exciting ever.

Sure he can win. See how many second places Harrington had and what he has achieved since.

soundsham

Davidth88 wrote: »

Ok, he has just broken into the top 50.....

How good is this guy ? Do we ( the europeans/Irish/GB+NI depending on your standpoint ) have someone we can hope to cheer wining The Open/ Masters etc in the medium term future ( 2-4 years ?? )

ya his name is P Harrington:p
wakey wakey!!!!!!!!!

EnjoyandImprove

I played against Rory in a Matchplay tournament up North a while back and he was very impressive. The week after we were both playing in Oughterard and having finished my final round I went out to watch him play the last couple of holes in contention. As it turned out he needed to eagle the 18th, a long par 4 to tie the winner. No joke, he nearly did it, he rifled a 6 iron, and hit the pin about an inch above the hole, obviously it takes great luck to hole out from that yardage (180 yards) but the fact that he was so close when he needed to be made great viewing, one of only a few golfers in the WORLD, in my opinion, that could be described as exciting to watch.

SalthillGuy

I have heard the young guys that played with him when he was an unknown 12 - 14 year old, that he was the best player they had ever seen up close.
Everyone had predicted great things for him.

WHIP IT!

Was talking to a Club pro a few weeks ago who had been at a corporate day with McIlroy and some other Irish pros that week... He just said you simply can't imagine how well McIlroy hits the ball. It's like nothing you've ever seen.

bigtimecharlie

Would love to see him up close.

Will be placing a few bets on him next year, he should cross the finish line in front in the not to distant future.

SalthillGuy

The first time I saw him was at a boys provencial championship. He was 12 and impressive.
The next time I saw him was his first appearance in the Irish Open in Carton House. Everyone wanted a close-up look at the boy wonder.
I was the first par 3 - long and into the wind.
Most pros were playing a wood.
He played a one iron on to the green. You could tell he had what it took.

Davidth88

ya his name is P Harrington
wakey wakey!!!!!!!!!

Ok I am going to be shot down for this no doubt .

Lovely guy, however just seems to lack the charisma .

Now the 5 wood to the 17th ? in The Open , was a shot to behold of course ......

I for some reason find it difficult to cheer PH, I am of course happy when he wins , and would favour him over any of the many totally faceless/ emotionless pro's on the tour , but there is something about him.

Anyway , The British can also claim RM , and no doubt will ( a' la Barry Macguigin and Eddie Irvine ( to a lesser extent ) and indeed Darran Clarke )

Mister Sifter

Davidth88 wrote: »

Ok I am going to be shot down for this no doubt .

Lovely guy, however just seems to lack the charisma .

Now the 5 wood to the 17th ? in The Open , was a shot to behold of course ......

I for some reason find it difficult to cheer PH, I am of course happy when he wins , and would favour him over any of the many totally faceless/ emotionless pro's on the tour , but there is something about him.

Anyway , The British can also claim RM , and no doubt will ( a' la Barry Macguigin and Eddie Irvine ( to a lesser extent ) and indeed Darran Clarke )

I struggled to take to Harrington for a long time too, but i've warmed to him over the past 6 months. (probably because i've always been a big Sergio fan and was bitter after the Open 07!!)

For me though, the way he won the USPGA this year was full of charisma. He might not be a bundle of excitement in front of the camera, but i don't watch golf for the interviews. It's all about the golf and Harrington - over the past 18 months - has given golf fans fantastic entertainment.

Anyway, back to McIlroy... he has so much potential it's frightening! As for this 'British claiming' nonsense though... what's the point in even going there.

Davidth88

As for this 'British claiming' nonsense though... what's the point in even going there.

Graeme,

I was going back to my OP, where i asked if the British ( amongst others ) would have something to shout about.

I certainly don't mean to open ' a can of worms' I really don't care about these things at all

But if the ' British can claim him ' then the Beeb for one will certainly give him more coverage, just watch he may yet win the Beeb sports personality in a few years ( this year it will be an F1 driver ) . With the Beeb on your side then you get a lot more , after all there are 50 million people ' over the water '

Mister Sifter

Davidth88 wrote: »

Graeme,

I was going back to my OP, where i asked if the British ( amongst others ) would have something to shout about.

I certainly don't mean to open ' a can of worms' I really don't care about these things at all

But if the ' British can claim him ' then the Beeb for one will certainly give him more coverage, just watch he may yet win the Beeb sports personality in a few years ( this year it will be an F1 driver ) . With the Beeb on your side then you get a lot more , after all there are 50 million people ' over the water '

And all that matters how?

I'm not sure what you mean by "with the Beeb on your side then you get a lot more". Do you mean more coverage? More money?

McIlroy was born in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK and is under the BBC's remit. In fact, McIlroy will pay a licence fee in his swanky new pad in Belfast. So what would be wrong with him getting a sports personality award in years to come?

Davidth88

Graeme,

In golfing terms it means diddly squat.

In money terms for RM it will mean a lot for sure.

And for ' the man on the clapham omnibus ' it means a hell of a lot , ask 100 British people if they have heard of PH , the answer will be who from 80 of them ? ( unless they play golf ) , ask the same question about Barry Macguigin and they will all have heard about him ,.

Mister Sifter

Davidth88 wrote: »

Graeme,

In golfing terms it means diddly squat.

In money terms for RM it will mean a lot for sure.

And for ' the man on the clapham omnibus ' it means a hell of a lot , ask 100 British people if they have heard of PH , the answer will be who from 80 of them ? ( unless they play golf ) , ask the same question about Barry Macguigin and they will all have heard about him ,.

But will any be able to spell his name?

There's a whole host of reasons why McGuigan has the profile he has. He was world-champion in a sport of the people for one and since leaving the ring has became a tv personality. As you mentioned earlier, one of the things Harrington doesn't have is charisma off the course.

I also think that 'the man on the clapham omnibus' would also be aware that McGuigan was Irish though.

If the BBC do jump on the McIlroy bandwagon then i don't think it to be a bad thing at all.

stockdam

What Rory, Darren and Eddie Irvine choose to be called is their business.

Let's keep any politics out of this as golf is one of the few sports that tends to rise above this.

Harrington gets a fair deal from the BBC as far as I can see and personally I have over the years enjoyed watching O'Connor Snr, Sergio, Seve, Langer, Ollie, Lyle, Woosnam, Faldo, Montie, Woods, the late Payne Stewart, Lee Trevino, Clarke, Rafferty, McIlroy, Harrington etc etc.

At no time did I worry whether they were British, Spainish, Irish, American or whatever.........I enjoy watching good golf and other than the Ryder Cup I don't mind who it is (although I will obviously cheer on McIroy, McDowell and Clarke that little bit more). I certainly don't want to see Montie for example messing up just because he's a Scot.

Davidth88

Stockdam

You are missing my point , certainly I , and I imagine any other golfer couldn't care about where these guys come from , but believe me the ' Great unWashed '
ie your average Sun reader does because the British ( and some extent the Irish ) media whip up a storm.

Just look at the crazy hype over the F1 championship this year.

I tried to keep politics out of it , although the nature of the beast I suppose....

stockdam

I'm sorry if I misunderstood - but I still do.

Ireland has as many Sun readers as the UK has and yes they like to cheer on one of theirs.

The great thing about Rory is that both the British and the Irish can cheer him on and both can feel he's one of theirs; and I'm sure he will be delighted at support from wherever it comes from. Both can also cheer him on at the next Ryder Cup.

Graeme has answered the question about the BBC so I won't say anymore other than to say that if he's voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year then he's as entitled to pick up the award as say David Beckham.

Mister Sifter

stockdam wrote: »

Graeme has answered the question about the BBC so I won't say anymore other than to say that if he's voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year then he's as entitled to pick up the award as say David Beckham.

Or me for that matter. Although after the shambles that was the shot of the year... i've lost all faith in these awards ceremonies.

Davidth88

The great thing about Rory is that both the British and the Irish can cheer him on and both can feel he's one of theirs; and I'm sure he will be delighted at support from wherever it comes from. Both can also cheer him on at the next Ryder Cup.

That is exactly what I was trying to say , you said it better So you did get my point !

The point is many British people wouldn't support an Irish golfer with the same gusto , and many Irish people wouldn't support an English ( carefully put English ) golfer with the same gusto

The point about the Beeb is they do have a slight British slant , of course the Brits pay their wages , so he would get more coverage on the News etc.

Thats all