McIlroy not to play till The Open

I can understand why he would pull out of 'The French' and, of course, he has to periodically rest his back but I would have thought a two week break sufficient to have allowed him to play 'The Scottish' thus enabling him to get some links practice in for Royal St. George's. I'm also given to understand Castle Stuart will be set up in such a way as not to destroy players' confidence going into 'the big one' so I'm wondering if this is such a smart decision?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/8588633/US-Open-champion-Rory-McIlroy-withdraws-from-French-Open-to-let-it-all-sink-in.html

I'm sure he'll probably just practice at Portrush or R County Down, those are probably closer to the conditions of RSG than Castle Stuart is.

I understand that but practice and competition are not one and the same thing.

I can only imagine what it must be like to win a major but it seems to me that getting back into a competitive harness after experiencing what must have been a life-changing event for him has to be, to say the least ... a challenge. I still feel a competition would have helped him to distance himself from the exhilaration of winning the US Open.

He's worked hard enough to enjoy the break and I'm sure his competitive juices won't desert him in a matter of weeks. Even after his mess at The Masters he was on a jet on the Monday, sitting with a green jacketed Charl Schwartzel, on his way to a relatively minor Malaysian Open - many questioned why he would not take a break so who are we to now question why he is. He also doesn't want to get in the same position as Donald who has had a fantastic year but looked very fatigued at the US.

Well, I'm sure that's up to him to decide. Chandler was quoted as saying he's good at hitting back from a break.

Tom Watson never used to play competitively prior to the Open, opting instead to head up to Dornoch, while my pet hate Woods used to head over to the land of the tatty muncher.

I know it is now the fashion to take weeks off before a major but I must agree with Gael on this one.
Pro's are very much like us and have two or three peaks in form a year.
If you were in form before a major I think you should keep playing.

I know the opposite worked for Harrington and Woods on the past, but there you are it's in the past.

Am pretty sure Harrington also practiced in Ireland before his first Open win...

Fair enough s_r. We'll shall see soon enough if it was the right decision not to play at Castle Stuart.

DTW, could the same not be said of those players that play all the way into a major - if it's been done in the past then that's irrelevant because it's the past?!?

gaelgowfer wrote:Fair enough s_r. We'll shall see soon enough if it was the right decision not to play at Castle Stuart.

How exactly will you quantify whether it was the right decision or not?

If he goes on to win The Open will that "prove" he was right to miss Castle Stuart? If he fails to win the Open will that be "proof" that he should have played CS? I think not...

sharrison01 wrote:Am pretty sure Harrington also practiced in Ireland before his first Open win...

With all due respect sharrison, doesn't this miss the point I'm making? How does one recover mentally from the biggest career moment of one's life. After all, he has no previous experience of having won a major to learn from, has he?

I hope Rory won't spend the time changing his swing...

There doesn't seem to be a right answer to whether or not playing prior to a major championship. I think it's individual and only time will show. Some players try different approaches.

Interesting is however that some players "always" seem to do well at Majors, without having done particularly well in the months leading up to it. Good examples in the past few years are Sergio, Rory and LW, and lately Day. (although all of them have played OK in 2011)

Slightly wider picture that sponsors both event and personal will not be happy.
Understand missing this week but at least play one of the next 2.
Maybe they see a bigger picture

the last thing that is expected is for rory to win the open too. so there's no expectation or pressure on him. let him take some time off, he's worked hard for a good few months and if there's a time for a 22 year old golfer to have a holiday, it's after winning the US open! a few laughs, some good practice and take that winning feeling to RStG and see what happens. hey, it's not like he's running out of time...

dynamark wrote:Slightly wider picture that sponsors both event and personal will not be happy.
Understand missing this week but at least play one of the next 2.
Maybe they see a bigger picture

Pardon?, it's McIlroy's perogative to play in which tournaments he pleases, his responsibility is to ensuring he's in the right physical and mental state to play in the competitions he deems most important, he has no responsibility to swell the coffers or widen the TV audiences of a tournament he doesn't fancy, just because he is now US Open Champion.

It's like saying teachers are responsible for bringing up kids. Surely it is the tournaments responsibility to make the tournament sufficiently attractive for major players to wish to play.

gaelgowfer wrote:

sharrison01 wrote:Am pretty sure Harrington also practiced in Ireland before his first Open win...

With all due respect sharrison, doesn't this miss the point I'm making? How does one recover mentally from the biggest career moment of one's life. After all, he has no previous experience of having won a major to learn from, has he?

But then surely he will look at what other successful players have done? Harrington used the great links in Ireland to prepare for both of his Open wins and Tiger does the same coming into The Open. Also, McIrloy will not get good competitive preparation playing before because he would be playing minor events where everyone will be focused on him - at least The Open is big enough that he can avoid some of the attention and just get on with playing well.

As already pointed out, his performance in The Open will give the only defining answer and imo his schedule over the past year or so has served him very well for the majors so we can only assume that he has a good team around him and is smart enough to make good decisions.

Indeed dyna. A three week break does seem a little excessive. Sponsors can't be happy about this. I just hope he's not following a fad set by others.

gaelgowfer wrote:Indeed dyna. A three week break does seem a little excessive. Sponsors can't be happy about this. I just hope he's not following a fad set by others.

Yet, Woods not only picks and chooses which tournaments he plays, but plays less than the requisite amount and no one complains, give McIlroy a break, he's just won the US Open as his third tournament win, let him enjoy it and come back when he's ready, he doesn't have an obligation to appear in specific events, he only has to play a requisite amount. He's doing nothing wrong.

s_r, firstly, my original point centred on whether or not his method of preparation was the right one for going into another major. Secondly, it's the sponsors who make it possible for him to ply his trade. Like it or not, he does have an obligation to support them as far as practicable.

Only time will tell, but he will surely be rested and fresh for the Open?

I'm sure I read that McDowell withdrew from this weeks BMW Internationaly Open so that he could join in the celebrations with McIlroy this week, but can't seem to find it now. If that's true then it's inexcusable.

I'm still wondering how you quantify whether it was the right decision or not

Yes, I can see what you mean, and for the vast majority of events McIlroy will be there, but cut him some slack, he's had a sensational week he deserves a break, and in any event those tournaments coming up are fairly small beer, even the Scottish Open.

I actually think the likes of Westwood and Donald could benefit from a couple of weeks break and also think McIlroy will actually return for the Scottish which even if he doesn't play is hardly going to be denuded of top players.

JPX wrote:Only time will tell, but he will surely be rested and fresh for the Open?

I'm sure I read that McDowell withdrew from this weeks BMW Internationaly Open so that he could join in the celebrations with McIlroy this week, but can't seem to find it now. If that's true then it's inexcusable.

Inexcusable how? As someone said upthread, it's the players' choice to play or miss certain tournaments. Pulling out to enjoy a friend's once in a lifetime celebrations is a pretty good reason to miss a tournament I think.

The ironic thing is that if he'd had an average US Open no one would be worrying about this. The reward for winning is having people scrutinising your every move.

I'm pretty sure that McIlroy is now big enough to decide his own schedule regardless of appeasing sponsors and after his first major he can pretty much get away with anything he wants in the eyes of sponsors.

Cue a string of "transgressions" and an apology for being a "victim" of sex addiction. I'm sure that Douglas, Sheen, Woods, Letterman et al would appreciate his youthful views in their meetings...

At first i thought taking this time off was a terrible idea for Rory especially as, as DTW says, he is such good form.
However the more i think about it the more i wonder if actually he's showing a bit of maturity here. Imagine the weeks between now and the Open. After every round he's going to be asked about the US Open, asked about playing on the US tour more, asked about staying on the European Tour, asked about his chances at the Open, asked about his improved putting, asked about Dave Stockton, asked to analyse this that and the other. Huge pressure on him to fulfil the media's desire for press conferences etc.
It would most likely be physically, but even more emotionally exhausting. And that's not good preparation for the Open.
I think he's made a good decision.

s_r, there is no right or wrong answer to this - I'm merely speculating as to wether or not he has made the right choice in taking three weeks off before heading into straight another major. You've made the Chubby Chandler point about him coming back strong after a break but Rory's currently occupying previously unknown territory and whilst taking substantial breaks may have worked for him on previous occasions, I just wonder whether he might have been better to have got another competition under his belt to expel that 'can't get going' feeling after such a phenomenal success. I just wonder that when he steps onto the first tee at Royal St. George's his head will still be in Washington.

gaelgowfer wrote:s_r, there is no right or wrong answer to this - I'm merely speculating as to wether or not he has made the right choice in taking three weeks off before heading into straight another major. You've made the Chubby Chandler point about him coming back strong after a break but Rory's currently occupying previously unknown territory and whilst taking substantial breaks may have worked for him on previous occasions, I just wonder whether he might have been better to have got another competition under his belt to expel that 'can't get going' feeling after such a phenomenal success. I just wonder that when he steps onto the first tee at Royal St. George's his head will still be in Washington.

I hope that when he steps onto the tee at RSG his head is very much in Washington. After all, that was where he played his best golf...

NedB-H wrote:

JPX wrote:Only time will tell, but he will surely be rested and fresh for the Open?

I'm sure I read that McDowell withdrew from this weeks BMW Internationaly Open so that he could join in the celebrations with McIlroy this week, but can't seem to find it now. If that's true then it's inexcusable.

Inexcusable how? As someone said upthread, it's the players' choice to play or miss certain tournaments. Pulling out to enjoy a friend's once in a lifetime celebrations is a pretty good reason to miss a tournament I think.

The ironic thing is that if he'd had an average US Open no one would be worrying about this. The reward for winning is having people scrutinising your every move.

Inexcusable because sponsors were expecting him in the field, I'm sure some fans saw him as a good reason to go to the tournament. But he won't be because his mate won the US Open last week.

A lot of players in every sport hit a low immediately after such a big high. Similar to us shooting a hole in one, you often see a nightmare on the following hole.

If McIlroy thinks taking a couple of weeks off to get his feet back on the ground is good preparation then who are we to question.

Personally if it were me, I'd probably take a couple of weeks off and then get into competition at the Scottish Open, but I'm not him, so it's irrelevant.

sharrison, is it asking too much for you to read and inwardly digest one of my posts before responding?

Lest you misunderstood, that was a rhetorical question!

No misunderstanding from me I'm afraid. Just making the point that having the memory of the last time that you stepped off of a green somebody handed you a nice big trophy and a fat cheque might be good for him at RSG...

Gael, i've never heard of somebody making a post on a public forum and then feeling the need to chastise another for daring to reply to it. If you don't welcome a response you really shouldn't post.......

gaelgowfer wrote:sharrison, is it asking too much for you to read and inwardly digest one of my posts before responding?

Lest you misunderstood, that was a rhetorical question!

Thought he made a perfectly good point actually.

Surely Harrington played the Irish PGA the week before each Open win?

JPX,
Darren Clarke certainly pulled out, not sure McDowell was ever in the Germany event but he might have pulled out of "France".

The European Tour has so few really big events I would have thought they'd look askance at top players avoiding Castle Stuart; I know they are "independent contractors" but Barclays seem to be a fabulous supporter of the Scottish Open and one would hope the quality of the field would reflect that . . . . . . .
Another Chubster player, Oosthuizen is supporting the land of his biggest win by playing the John Deere tournament the week before The Open; is there more to this than meets the eye?

Ill make a prediction.Rory be well down the field at RSG in the wind and media will blame his 3 week break.
Im sure the sponsors are pleased for him and glad to be assosiated but that doesnt stop them wanting the exposure and him and others in the field

MPB ... not that I feel obliged to you as to why I took sharrison to task over his posting style but he does seem to have a habit of cherry picking posts thus failing to keep context in his responses.

Thanks kwingolfer, it was Clarke and not McDowell, that explains why I couldn't find it this morning! (well I have slept since I read it first!)

"Another Chubster player, Oosthuizen is supporting the land of his biggest win by playing the John Deere tournament the week before The Open; is there more to this than meets the eye?."

Come on kwini, spill the beans!

gaelgowfer wrote:MPB ... not that I feel obliged to you as to why I took sharrison to task over his posting style but he does seem to have a habit of cherry picking posts thus failing to keep context in his responses.

Kettle ... pot. You also seem to be cherry picking posts and never replied to my (twice asked) question

gaelgowfer wrote:MPB ... not that I feel obliged to you as to why I took sharrison to task over his posting style but he does seem to have a habit of cherry picking posts thus failing to keep context in his responses.

I believe that I have responded to most of your posts which would thus negate your opinion of me cherry picking. As for me failing to keep context, I believe that I have been very consistent in my view that McIlroy is doing the correct thing in taking some time off. My earlier post highlighted my reasons for thinking this and I have merely responded to points that I feel are contrary to this. I don't feel like there has been too much wrong with this style of discussion on a forum - if I wanted a blog or "tweet" then I would have gone to a different website.

Gael, you have no obligation to me or anyone else

Just struck me as odd that you felt the need to take the guy 'to task' at all, and i therefore found myself 'taking you to task'

There's no need to be condescending or rude, that's all i'm saying

Davie, for obvious reasons I'm making an exception here but I choose not not to respond to ANY of your posts, as well you know.

Maybe you should put up a set of rules when you post a thread so we all know when, what and how to reply to it!!

I think he is made the right choice. Having won his first Major, maybe he is just letting it set in and making sure that he continues this momentum going into another Major.

gaelgowfer wrote:Davie, for obvious reasons I'm making an exception here but I choose not not to respond to ANY of your posts, as well you know.

Gael - that is your right. I just find it amusing that it's OK for you to cherry-pick which arguments to respond to when you take someone else to task for doing the same thing

The shame of this is, Gael, that you had posted a really good article that was interesting and had sparked a bit of debate - all now off topic and 'hostile'

Never mind!

MPB, football anyone?

Don't bring football back onto a non-football thread!

Geeezzz

Ha, talking of off topic and hostile........

Davie wrote:

gaelgowfer wrote:Fair enough s_r. We'll shall see soon enough if it was the right decision not to play at Castle Stuart.

How exactly will you quantify whether it was the right decision or not?

If he goes on to win The Open will that "prove" he was right to miss Castle Stuart? If he fails to win the Open will that be "proof" that he should have played CS? I think not...

Firstly, the winners of the Scottish Open vary rarely do well at the British Open, only twice since 2000 has the winner finished in the top 10 at the British Open.
Second, Tiger Woods always missed the Scottish and practised in Ireland and the lack of competitiveness didn't do him any harm.
Third, surely before a Major you don't want to be playing too much incase of burnout, a few practice rounds the week before should be enough for a top pro, after all McIlroy took a week or break before US Open and went on to win it