by Jeff Skinner
As it should The Open Championship dominated the golf pages, both electronic and print around the world with so many wonderful pieces by numerous scribes. Here are some great reads. Take some time to check them out.
In Doug Ferguson’s game story he says Rory and his game are back in a big way:
In another major lacking tension over the final hour, what brought The Open to life was the potential of its champion.
After nearly two years of turmoil, McIlroy looked like the kid who shattered scoring records to win the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional, and who won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island by a record eight shots a year later. The Boy Wonder is back. Or maybe he’s just getting started again.
The ‘new’ Rory McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug at Hoylake and became Ireland’s fourth winner of the British Open, golf’s oldest and greatest Major, in eight glorious years.
McIlroy remains outrageously gifted. Yet over four days at Royal Liverpool, the 2014 Open Champion gave a performance of greater depth, serenity and substance than the uninhibited, tousle-haired ‘kid’ who ripped up the Major Championship record books at the 2010 US Open and the 2012 US PGA.
Of course, he is still his mother’s son. Very much so! McIlroy revealed he was afraid even to look in Rosie’s direction as she stood by the 18th green for fear he might burst into tears before putting-out for par and the 71 that sealed his two-shot victory at the British Open.
Christopher Clarey of the New York Times says Rory is ready for the next step:
McIlroy may never match the breadth and depth of Nicklaus’s and Woods’s achievements; this is an era brimming with global talent in which domination has proved elusive. But McIlroy made his intentions clear on Sunday.
“Golf is looking to someone to put their hand up and try,” he said. “I want to be the guy that goes on and wins majors and wins majors regularly.”
McIlroy is clearly a better and more resilient player at this stage of his career, if not yet a consistently brilliant one.
Geoff Shackelford tells us that Rickie Fowler still sees plenty of life in Tiger and Phil:
As Rickie Fowler was walking beside Rory McIlroy up the 18th hole Sunday at the British Open, the tournament’s final group playing the final hole, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were flying over the Atlantic after frustrating weeks. That could lead many to think the torch has been passed to a new generation. Not so says British Open runner-up.
“I don’t see Tiger and Phil and some of those guys running off anywhere,” Fowler commented after the round. “We’re ready to go to battle against them, though.”
James Riach says that Sergio Garcia can take away some positives from his Open performance:
“It was close, it was close,” said García. “At least I’m proud of the way I played. I wanted to at least make him [McIlroy] feel a little bit and see how he would respond. He obviously responded well. I got within two but every time I got closer he kept making one birdie and not letting me get any closer than that. Overall I thought it was a great week.
“Everybody looks at you as second and they want to make it a negative. Not at all. I felt like I played well, I felt like I did almost everything I could. There was a better player, it’s as simple as that. You don’t have to look at other things, it’s just that simple.”
And here is a great slideshow from Golf.com of the best pictures from Royal Liverpool.
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