Okay, Rory hasn’t officially missed the cut just yet. It’s theoretically possible he could recover from this +3 start to his second round. To do that, though, he’ll have to throw his Nike clubs into a water hazard and grab a set of assembly-line Titleists from the pro shop to finish his round. However, I’m not sure once you sign a deal with the devil, that the devil will allow you to unsign.
On a positive note, Rory McIlroy is the early favorite to win the 2013 David Duval Go-Away Player of the Year award. David Duval, as you may recall, went from being the world’s number one player to missing cuts when he switched from Titleist clubs to Nike. Sound like anyone we know? After an astonishingly successful 2011 and 2012, Rory did what every short-sighted CEO on Wall Street does: he grabbed the money in front of him, without any thought to the long term.
The jokes have already started. Here’s a nice shot from Phil Mushnick:
Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy out after the first round of NBC’s match play championship. Worst thing to happen to Nike since factory workers demanded an extra half-scoop of rice.
A quick comparison of Rory’s 2012 start to his 2013 start. Abu Dhabi, Match Play, and Honda Classic. Last year Rory went 2, 2, 1. This year? MC, Rd 1 loss, MC.
While I wrote, Rory has gone from +3 for the day to +7. All you can do is laugh. Enjoy the money, Rory. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.
How long until Nike sends Dr. Galea to Rory’s house to give him a “check-up”? No way Nike is enjoying their holographic godboy’s suckitude. It’s really sad that someone didn’t pull Rory aside and tell him he already had enough money, and that more money would not make him any more happy, but losing his skill at golf — his life’s passion — would definitely make him less happy. Being the punch line of jokes can’t be fun, either, especially your folly was with Nike, a company so notoriously “evil” — to the use the annoying word so much in vogue among certain crowds these days.
But, hey, it’s all good for Nike. Tiger Woods is Nike Golf, and hiring Rory wasn’t going to change that any more than giving David Duval a hat with a Swoosh on it in 2001. With Rory’s demise, Nike can shift their focus back to Woods. And as little as I think of Tiger Woods as a human being, give him credit for this: he knows how to bring home the bacon with shitty golf equipment. If it takes Dr. Galea to do it, so be it. (Why does Dan Jenkins’ “North Dallas Forty” come to mind?)
But, alas, there is one silver lining for Young McIlroy. His current +7 still leads the +11 of David Duval.
I understand Rory McIlroy’s decision to withdraws from the Honda Classic. He was simply unable to concentrate and didn’t want to affect his playing partners. It’s definitely better to apologize for a sudden withdrawal than having to apologize for a poor performance. So he made the best decision in my opinion.
Don’t you think he owed it to the fans to scrape it around the course and at least let them get a glimpse of him? I’m disappointed in him.