Holywood golfing starlet Rory McIlroy says he’s got stage fright embracing a new ‘Rory Era’ limelight.
The World No. 1 is a white hot favourite to bag a career ‘Triple Crown’ and join Tiger Woods as the only two players to have won the trio of British Open, Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship let alone in the same season.
However there was no escaping McIlroy’s appeal this week having arrived in Louisville, Kentucky late Sunday night from his Firestone triumph in Ohio to be greeted by a huge airport billboard of himself promoting this week’s 94th PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Rory McIlroy on center stage ahead of this week’s 96th PGA Championship. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/ww.golfile.ie)
The current World No. 1 is striving this week to become only the second player after Tiger Woods to capture the British Open, WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship victory ‘Triple Crown’.
And while 25-year old is already a white-hot favourite to by win by many lengths in the Blue Grass State, McIlroy is lukewarm at embracing leading a new era in world golf.
“I don’t know the answer to me bringing a new splendour to golf,” he said.
“Of course, I’ve heard talk of it and I’ve read it but sometimes I feel that people are too quick to jump to conclusions and jump on the bandwagon and jump on certain things.
“I’ve had a great run of golf and I’ve played well over the past few months but as I said at the start of the year that golf was looking for someone to put their hand up and become one of the dominant players in the game.
“I feel like I have the ability to do that, and it’s just nice to be able to win a few tournaments and get back to where I feel like I should be, which is near the top of the World Rankings and competing in majors and winning golf tournaments.
“So I’m not necessarily sure you can call that an era or the start of an era, but I’m just really happy with where my golf game is at the minute and I just want to try and continue that for as long as I can.
“And people can say what they want to say, that’s fine. But I can’t read too much into it. I just need to continue to practice hard and play well, and if I do that, then you know, that’s all I can do and try not to read too much of the stuff that’s being written, because if you start reading everything that was written, I’d be turning up on Thursday thinking I’d already won the tournament (smiling).
McIlroy’s WGC – Bridgestone triumph saw him become Europe’s new Euro 20m man with his earnings in just 139 European Tour counting events now placing him eighth overall on the European all-time money list.
And McIlroy has added more millions to the coffers having just signed a new deal with Swiss wristwatch giant, Omega.
Tonight McIlroy joins a host of former PGA winners attending the now annual ‘Former Champions Dinner’ and held within the stunning Churchill Downs Racecourse premises, and host venue each year to the famed Kentucky Derby.
However an absentee from the dinner will be four-time former PGA Champion Tiger Woods and with uncertainty still over whether the 14-time Major winner will compete this week.
