Tired? More than that.
“I was running on fumes,” confessed Rory McIlroy of how his new on-course leadership role – one he embraced – had literally drained him.
And, after an energy-sapping month which saw him lift the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup title and play all five sessions in the Ryder Cup, the 27-year-old world number three intends taking a three-week break to recharge the batteries before chasing the season-ending Race to Dubai title on the European Tour.
McIlroy – who hit form with wins in the Deutsche Bank championship and the Tour Championship to hit the jackpot on the PGA Tour – will refocus on the European Tour for the end of the season with appearances in the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in China followed by the following week’s Turkish Airlines Open, the Nedbank in South Africa and finally the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
Bad swings
“Atlanta seems like lifetimes ago now, you know, it’s unbelievable,” said McIlroy, speaking on Sunday night, a week after his FedEx Cup success.
"But I can take a lot from it. I played great for the last few weeks, I've played well. I made a few bad swings out there [against Patrick Reed in the singles] but I feel like I'm on the right track with my putting, I feel like I'm on the right track with my game and I just looking forward to a few weeks off to regroup and recharge.
“I’ve won the FedEx Cup now and I’m trying to stay focused to try and win the Race to Dubai,” he added.
Although on the losing team in a Ryder Cup for the first time, this match saw McIlroy’s emergence as a true leader.
“I felt that a few months ago whenever the team was shaping up. It looked like there was going to be a few first timers on there, that’s when the likes of myself, Sergio, Henrik, Justin, Lee, we had to step up and be the on course leaders, the ones to set the tone, try to do everything we can to make the rookies feel more comfortable.
Leadership qualities
“Medinah was my first Ryder Cup in the US, I wasn’t a rookie but felt there wasn’t as much responsibility on my shoulders. But coming in this week after having done what I have done in the game but especially after the last few weeks playing I wanted to go out and lead by example. I tried my utmost to do that and I won three points, wish it had of been more, I did all that I could.”
Apart from his leadership qualities emerging onto the big team stage, McIlroy – it would seem – has formed an impressive likely alliance with Belgian Thomas Pieters going forward to future Ryder Cups.
The pair, a last-minute partnership blended wonderfully well to win the three matches in which they played together.
“I hadn’t played him in a match before and we go out and it wasn’t really a planned pairing but we went out there and played unbelievable in the fourball and then Darren puts us back out there in the foursomes and I’m like, ‘fine, let’s go with this’ and he’s the best partner you could have.
“He didn’t act like a rookie out there, it just seemed so natural to him. He’s such a laid back guy, sort of Nicolas Colsaerts four years ago but younger and, no offence to Nicolas Colsaerts, with a lot more talent.”
