With his win today at the 143rd playing of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club at Hoylake in England, Rory McIlroy has already become one of the greatest in the world of professional golf. Consider this: He is now the only European tour player to win 3 of the 4 majors. And he is one of only 3 golfers in the modern era (since 1934) to be 3/4s of the way to winning the career Grand Slam of golf - defined as winning all 4 majors at least once - by age 25 or younger. And the other two on that short list are THE legends of the game: The Golden Bear Jack Nicklaus (18 total majors, first place) and Tiger Woods (14, second). But I have a hard time rooting for Rory. And it has nothing to do with his on-field talent and everything to do with his treatment of a certain young lady off the field. By 2011, after a couple of starts and stops, Rory and girlfriend-since-childhood Holly Sweeney seemed to be settling down in a home to build a life together. Rory had always been a tennis fan, and had casually told Holly that he fancied tennis star Caroline Wozniacki when they would watch some of her matches. At the time, Holly didnt think much about it. But eventually, Rory decided to fly off to Germany to a boxing match where he met Caroline. According to Holly - and never publicly refuted by Rory himself - when he flew home, he dodged Holly at the door, went straight to see their dogs first instead, then sat Holly down and explained that he had met Caroline and wanted to see how things would go with her. Holly, who had always supported Rory and had been his #1 fan literally since childhood, was devastated. To make a longer story short, and one that is well documented in the press, Rory and Caroline eventually got engaged, and then Rory broke off the engagement and ended their relationship after the wedding invitations had been sent. In all my times of seeing Holly on television or in the media, I honestly think she is one of the warmest and sweetest girls Rory could have ever had. And although his touching nod to his mother today during the presentation of the Claret Jug was heartwarming, I couldnt help but imagine something was missing. I just kept thinking there should be this beautiful 24-year-old wife named Holly meeting him with a warm, emotional embrace after the last putt dropped, and perhaps a red-haired mini-Rory waddling out to be swept up into Daddys arms. I want to believe that Rory has matured beyond the seemingly cold and heartless way in which he conducted himself during that period, but I still struggle with it. And I hope that while Rory continues to pursue the best that golf has to offer him, he didnt make the mistake of letting the best of what LIFE had to offer him slip right through his fingers.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 22:17:49 +0000
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