Caddie’s Role: Struggling with game in the limelight adds more pressure on McIlroy

There is one big disadvantage to being very talented and relishing exercising that talent under the world’s watchful eye; they are still scrutinising you when your performances don’t merit attention.

Us golf fans probably watched Tiger Woods on Sunday last steer his way masterfully to his eight-shot victory around Firestone Country Club. A remarkable achievement, winning almost half the amount of times he has teed it up in the Akron club.

It was also the site of one of Tiger's most abject performances not that long ago in 2010 when he shot 18 over par, finished 78th and had nowhere to hide given that there is no cut in the World Championship event. Some even suggested that he would never regain his imperial form.

Human side
Tiger Woods had been super-human until his private life exposed a very human side to him that sent the world reeling and began the humanisation process of a golfer who had until then strictly let his clubs do the talking, in public anyway.

We do seem to demand all encompassing virtue from our sports-stars and are not happy to simply enjoy and marvel at their professional showmanship. So when they don't behave as us moralists feel they should they naturally get a pasting.

Last Major of season
As Rory McIlroy begins the last Major of the season today and the defence of his PGA title captured so supremely last year with a record eight shot margin of victory he is yet again under ever increasing pressure to get back to where the golfing world expects him to be; on or close to the top.

Rory is a huge talent and ever since he barged onto the European Tour in swashbuckling style and captured his first victory in Dubai only four years ago we have all had high hopes for him, or should I say demands of excellence.

It was poignant that two players who had fallen from their golfing pedestals were on the podium last week. Henrik Stenson came second to Tiger, finished second to Phil Mickelson in the British Open championship and third in Scotland the week before that, having endured a number of years in the golfing wilderness.

We all love to come up with the reasons why a player has fallen to levels that we never expected him to reach but the reality is that it is the exception that players perform as consistently as they do for a long as they do. To dominate at a sport that has so many realistic potential winners each week is a phenomenal achievement. If they do, it really does signify some super-human quality.

It is obvious that Tiger Woods was bred as a golfing machine, and reared to combine his exceptional gift to play golf and fuse it with a superior mind to channel that talent into victory so often.

But what was left of the golfing machine once it left the tournament factory: an undeveloped human who had difficulty with his social performance. So when Rory McIlroy is hauled into the press-room yet again to somehow try to make sense of where his game is lurking at the moment, the simple answer I think is that he is human and seemingly quite a nice human at that.

The problem is that he is a very talented and highly paid human and some can’t help but take a shot at him when he is not performing as we think he always should.

Talent is probably a gift that we all crave when contorting ourselves inadequately at our favoured weekend past-time. The industry gets hold of your talent, makes you and it a fortune out of it but hides the off button.

Talented young golfer
I caddied for a very talented young golfer named Tom Lewis a while back who catapulted to success with a win in his third professional event and has struggled ever since hoisting that trophy. He hasn't battled with his talent but more his humanity. Being a professional is not as easy as it looks holding a trophy and a big cheque late on a Sunday afternoon. The one advantage for Tom over Rory, who is of similar age, is that he is struggling out of the limelight. Rory's every step to his current over par scores is followed and analysed.

If he could keep a low sound-bite profile perhaps we would all benefit and let the talented but very human Rory McIlroy get back to the press room explaining just how he shot that 66 and how much he enjoyed it.

If it doesn’t happen this week in Oak Hill it is only a matter of time before that unique skill is once again unleashed. Rory McIlroy is after all only human.