Brit Pack – McIlroy
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Rory McIlroy reckons hen is ready. Ready to shine under the glare of the world’s sporting apotlight.
St Andrews is no ‘normal’ golf tournament. The 2010 Open looks set to be a sizzler and McIlroy fancies his chances.
Rory reveals the shots and strategy he’ll be taking into action over the unique course in the Home of Golf.
TEXAS WEDGE
“Putting from 20 or 30 yards away is very important because you will have a few of those during the week. I remember Todd Hamilton taking hybrid from seemingly everywhere in 2004 at Troon but for me personally I would just stick with a putter because that’s what I practise with. The more you practice, the better you will be at judging the distance.”
IMAGINATIVE OPTIONS
“You’ve got to have a lot of imagination around the greens at St Andrews. You can put yourself in some spots that you don’t get anywhere else in the world. Every shot that you face at a links course like St Andrews will have two or three different ways to play it and you have to work out in your head which is the best.”
SENSIBLE STRATEGY
“Tiger won at Hoylake by playing irons off pretty much every tee so sticking to your strategy is really important. At St Andrews there are holes where you can make a score – like the loop of 7, 8, 9, 10 and the par 5s – and there are also holes where you know that par is going to be more than good enough.
“There are so many different variables – such as the weather, how firm the course is, how the greens are and the pin positions – that you have to weigh up and then say, for instance, three under is going to be a good score today and base your strategy around that.”
IN MY BAG AT ST ANDREWS
“I’ll use driver, 3 & 5-wood and 3-iron. I keep my 5-wood down so don’t need other long irons in the bag. To keep the ball low I’ll go down the grip, put the ball back in my stance, and hit down on it, taking a little divot.”
PICK A SPECIFIC TARGET
“Because St Andrews is so open with several blind holes you have to pick a target in the distance. On the 2nd, for instance, you aim at the cross walk sign left of the fairway. It’s TV towers on other holes.”
ACCURATE APPROACHES
“Whenever I’ve played St Andrews it’s never been that windy. The greens are so big and the course will be so firm that you’ll either want to run it in or try and hit it really high so the ball lands softly on the greens.”
McILROY FACTFILE
Age: 21
Nationality: Northern Irish
World ranking: Nine
Pro wins: Two
Best Open finish: 2007 T47 (leading amateur)
