There’s a chance that you’ll have read and heard no end of chat about Rory McIlroy’s love affair with Quail Hollow, a venue where he’s won four times in official Tour events, set the course record of 61 back in 2015 and finished in the top 10 in 10 of his 14 appearances.
Jordan Spieth, as the BBC reported, is so blown away by the Northern Irish man’s history there, he suggested that Quail Hollow be renamed “Rory McIlroy Country Club”.
At 7,626 yards, it’s the sixth longest course on the PGA Tour which, of course, works nicely for a player with McIlroy’s driving ability. “This is a golf course that lets you hit with your driver a lot,” he said, “it’s one of the big factors why I’ve been able to do so well here over the years”.
Still, his Quail Hollow stats are on the staggering side. Since he first won there in 2010, his combined score is 102 under par – that, notes The Athletic, is “a whopping 55 shots better than any other player in that span (Rickie Fowler is second, at -47)”.
Golf Digest got their calculator out too. “His scoring average at Quail Hollow is 69.48 – nearly a full shot better than anyone else.” Some record, that, at Rory McIlroy Country Club.
Some coincidence
Golf writers must, surely, be the most observant members of the fourth estate, absolutely nothing seems to get by them.
Take golf.com’s Claire Rogers. She noted on Wednesday that “Scottie Scheffler has worn burnt orange twice in the last year. First was a year ago this week at the Louisville Police Department. The second time is today. He’s got to be messing with us.”
And “yes”, she said, “I DID scroll through a year of Getty images to confirm this.”
But indeed, you’d suspect her hunch was correct – Scheffler was being a rascal.
Messy break-up
When golfers and their caddies break up, there can be no little acrimony in the aftermath, although Billy Foster has tried to be accepting of Matthew Fitzpatrick’s decision to split with him in March after six years working together. But then the reality of being an unemployed caddie hit hard.
“I’ve not enjoyed getting up in the morning and thinking, ‘what am I going to do today?’,” he told the London Times. “I’ve done this since I was 16, to get up with no purpose is no good for me. I’ve still got a couple of years to give. I don’t want to be painting the conservatory and cutting the lawn. I want to be out there with my mates and feeling the atmosphere of big tournaments again.”
Fitzpatrick is likely to continue with Foster’s replacement Daniel Parratt at Quail Hollow this week, the 2022 US Open winner deciding he needed a reboot after a poor run of form. “Part and parcel of the game,” said Foster. “Players want to change and you get thrown in the gutter.”
QUOTE
“Jordan is like a bomb waiting to go off. The fuse is lit and if he wins again, he may not stop.”
Jordan Spieth’s former coach John Fields on his chances of completing a career Grand Slam on his eighth attempt. Tick tock.
NUMBER: 99
That’s how many of the world’s top 100 will be in action at Quail Hollow, Billy Horschel’s hip surgery making him the only absentee.
