An extremely successful career in professional golf, one that will take him to the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking this week, has not turned Rory McIlroy into a machine. That’s perhaps the biggest revelation from Part II of a wide-ranging interview McIlroy gave to the Irish Independent.
The four-time major champion sat down with journalist Paul Kimmage at McIlroy’s home in Holywood, Northern Ireland, where “no question was off limits.” In the segment posted Sunday, Kimmage covered ground ranging from the self-help books McIlroy has read recently to dealing with an opening-hole implosion at the 2019 British Open at Portrush to, perhaps most interestingly, questions about whether McIlroy has the intimidation factor necessary to continue to rise in this sport.
The full interview can be found here.
Upon dissecting McIlroy’s missed cut at Royal Portrush, where local Northern Ireland crowds rallied around him (considering he is one of their own), Kimmage moved on to McIlroy’s level of competitiveness.
As McIlroy was on a plane back to his Florida home that Sunday in July, his killer instinct was a subject of debate on a radio show. Specifically, Kimmage explains to McIlroy in the interview, the hosts were reacting to a piece in the Sunday Independent written by Dermot Gilleece. The subheading read, “The lack of a competitive edge means Rory’s rivals simply don’t fear him.”
“He’s not a fearsome opponent. He’s a glorious player and he’s swashbuckling, but he’s not a fearsome opponent,” one critic says.
“I think he’s overly reflective, overly philosophical. I think that can be corrosive at times,” another adds.
McIlroy had spent the first part of the interview talking about books that have helped him deal with the highs and the lows that come with being in the public spotlight, among them “Digital Minimalism,” “Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less” and “The Obstacle is the Way.” He also revealed that he fills pages and pages of a journal – perhaps as many as 10 on the flight home from Portrush – with self-reflective writing.
But whether all that’s too philosophical?
“You can become too passive, and that’s no good either,” McIlroy said. “But they’re talking about fire and anger. What’s anger ever done? It’s not about getting angry. ‘Oh, he doesn’t stand on the tee and intimidate people.’ I couldn’t give a shit if I don’t intimidate people! That’s not what it’s about! I’m not Novak Djokovic looking at Roger Federer on the other side of the net. I’m not trying to intimidate Brooks. I’m focused on me. It’s about getting the best out of myself. In the past – and it’s a criticism I’ve had of myself – I was overly emotional and impulsive and reactive and . . .”
In the interview, McIlroy calls that emotion “competitive drive” rather than anger. He answers the question on philosophy by referencing the past year as one of the best of his career.
“There’s a balance to be struck,” McIlroy tells Kimmage. “I’m not going to be this angry, competitive, uncompassionate (machine). Yeah, winning Majors and being successful is important to me, but it’s also important for me to know that I can go and have dinner with my mum and dad after shooting a bad score, and they’re still going to love me.”
The series will continue in next week’s Independent.
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