Rory McIlroy revealed the words said to him during his mid-round slump in the first round of The Open at Royal Birkdale.
The Northern Irishman was on the verge of another missed cut – he had three in four events prior to teeing off yesterday – after a bogey-filled start to the championship.
‘I was thinking, geez, here we go again, but I just needed to stay patient and stay with it. I didn’t get angry out there at all. I didn’t let my head drop too much. So I kept a good, positive attitude. And it turned around for me, thankfully,’ said McIlroy, whose back nine consisted of no drops and four birdies to get him back to -1 for the day.
‘It was nice to see the putt on 18 go in and close out today with something really positive.
‘With the weather we’re expecting tomorrow (Friday), I still feel I’m in the golf tournament. If I can go out and play a good quality round of golf in the morning and try to get in the clubhouse somewhere around even par, under par, I’ll still be around for the weekend.’
Looking more likely to miss the cut than add to his four Majors after turning in 39, the world number four admitted that the words from his caddie JP Fitzgerald sparked a revival.
‘He said to me, “You’re Rory McIlroy, what the f*** are you doing?” At that point, I just mumbled and replied, “Yeah, whatever.” But it definitely helped. He reminded me who I was, what I was capable of.
