Golf World - June 25, 2012

There are a lot of ways to look at Rory’s recent run of poor form. The most generous—and most general—is to say he lost his priorities when he was hit with the increased demands on his time after winning the U.S. Open. If that’s the case, McIlroy is certainly not the first player overwhelmed by the opportunities and obligations that come with winning a major championship. Learning how to manage time—and how to say no—so you can still practice enough to stay sharp is a challenge.

McIlroy is also trying to maintain a long-distance and high-profile romance with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, who has hit a rough patch of her own. Wozniacki won six titles in each of the 2010 and 2011 seasons and finished both years as No. 1 in the world, but she has yet to win this year. And when she was defeated in the third round of the French Open on June 2 by Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi, she lost her temper and shouted at the chair umpire.

Wozniacki, 21, said she has “plenty
to look forward to” despite her ouster
in Paris, and her words pretty much
mirror those spoken by her boyfriend
at Olympic Club. “I just realized that
you got to keep working hard,” McIlroy
said. “It doesn’t come easy to you all
the time. It hasn’t been the greatest
run over the last six weeks, but I still
see enough good stuff in the rounds
that it does give me hope that it’s not
very far away.”
Next up for McIlroy is the Euro-
pean Tour’s Irish Open as he begins
to prepare for the next major—the
British Open at Royal Lytham &
St. Annes. And if Rory doesn’t like
fast-running golf courses, that could
turn out to be another frustrating
week. Still, McIlroy is probably only
one more major win away from once
again being the next great thing in
golf, and one more wipeout in a major
away from being barraged with more
“What’s wrong?” questions. n

Timeline By Ryan Herrington

6: 16 a.m.

No fog or wind greets those working the early shift at
Olympic Club, but the morning chill has a marshal on the
first hole scurrying for a pair of gloves she’s tucked away
in her jacket. “It’s the one thing they don’t sell that you
really need,” she notes, referring to the apparel package
volunteers must purchase to work the U.S. Open. “I forgot
to bring them earlier in the week. Rookie mistake.”
with autographs. So far Deal has gotten more than 80
signatures. His favorite? Bubba Watson’s.

7:02 a.m.

A small crowd beside the ninth tee cheers on Casey Martin as he hits the opening tee shot of the second round and then motors down the fairway in a golf cart. “It’s weird that he’s all alone in that thing,” says one spectator. “Couldn’t they give him a driver or something?”

12: 50 p.m.

A second-round 72 from Luke Donald isn’t good enough to overcome his opening 79 as the world No. 1 will call it an early week. Afterward, the inevitable question about his trouble in majors arises. “Well, certainly that’s the one part of my golfing résumé in the last few years especially that I need to continually address and continually improve,” Donald cautiously says. “I want to win one more than any of you guys know. Obviously, I’ll continue to try to do that.”

8: 50 a.m.

Ed Bailey sits in the grandstands behind the 18th green with a cup of coffee and an interesting story. “I’ve been to all five U. S. Opens here,” says Bailey, who grew up in San Mateo, Calif. There is a caveat: Bailey was born in January 1956. “My mother was pregnant and came here with my father when Jack Fleck won in 1955. I’m going to count that if you don’t mind.”

1:02 p.m.

Jim Furyk closes out a one-under 69 to be the first player in red numbers after 36 holes. By day’s end he will hold a share of the midway lead at the U. S. Open for the second time in 18 starts, the other coming when he won in 2003.

10:05 a.m.

David Deal, 28, of Concord, Calif., took a week’s leave from the Coast Guard to attend the U. S. Open. As he walks around the course, he carries a U.S. Open flag covered

1: 54 p.m.

OK, so you do need to hit fairways and greens to contend at a U. S. Open. First-round leader Michael Thompson fails to do both on his third and fourth holes of the day, making a bogey and a double bogey to lose the outright lead en route to a second-round 75.