McIlroy and his game in the right place

GOLF:THE EARTH hasn't stopped spinning, and it's definitely not flat. But, still, in the golfing world, all has changed. Changed utterly, you might say.

And this 93rd edition of the USPGA Championship – where, you’ve got to figure, the streak of six successive first-time Major champions dating back to Graeme McDowell’s US Open win last year should surely end – provides Rory McIlroy, the reigning US Open champion, with the opportunity to prove he is the emerging dominant force.

A decade ago, when the USPGA was last staged here at Atlanta Athletic Club, Tiger Woods and, to a lesser extent, Phil Mickelson strode the fairways with an aura that set them apart. Okay, David Toms won that one. But the Woods-Mickelson rivalry, in its genesis then, captivated us and would do so for the years that followed.

Now, though, there is a new kid on the block; and McIlroy, at the age of 22, exudes a belief in his own ability that, well, smacks of a certain Mr Woods in his prime.

“When I get to these big tournaments, I feel comfortable and as if I’ve got a great chance. If I hit the ball this week like I did in Akron (at the Bridgestone Invitational last week, where he finished sixth) and hole a few putts, then I think I will go very close,” said McIlroy, pulling no punches.

He is in a good place, it would seem.

Ten years ago, when the championship was held here, McIlroy – not yet a teenager – was watching at home on television. Yet, those players who were here then won’t be able to call on much course knowledge to gain an edge on him. Since then, a major course redevelopment has been conducted under golf architect Rees Jones, which has included introducing three new strains of grasses (“Diamond Zoysia” fairways; “Tifton 10” Bermuda rough, and “Champion Ultradwarf” Bermuda greens), moving numerous fairway bunkers, extending water hazards and, generally, adding muscle to the examination.

The meat of the course is actually on the home run, with McIlroy observing that the stretch from the 15th to the 18th – the last four holes – will have players hanging on “for dear life coming in.”

McIlroy is the youngest of the quartet of Irishmen in the field – joined as he is by British Open champion Darren Clarke, last year’s US Open winner McDowell and three-time Major champion Pádraig Harrington – but his form in this particular championship in recent years makes him the one most likely to extend the quite remarkable run of Irish Major winners.

Although McIlroy’s preparations for this season’s previous three Majors have involved taking a week’s break immediately before the championship, with positive results, the scheduling of the Bridgestone in the tour slot in the week ahead of the USPGA determines a different approach.

It hasn’t hindered him in the past: in 2009, he finished in third at Hazeltine; and, in 2010, he again finished in third at Whistling Straits.

Could the USPGA be the Major that suits his game the best of all?

A nod of agreement. “Yeah. The way the PGA set up their golf course, it feels as if it suits me really well.

“You’ve got to drive it well, you’ve got to hit your irons well. They want you to make birdies here, they want you to go under par and I like that . . . I’ve always thought as if this and the Masters would probably be the two (Majors) that suited me most.”

Life has been a whirlwind for McIlroy, on and off the course, since his breakthrough win at the US Open at Congressional in June. Here, this week, he has attempted to recreate the same attitude he took with him onto the course at Congressional.

“Mentally, I was very good, didn’t let anything get to me.

“I’m not sure if it’s possible, but some aspects of what I did at Congressional, I’d love to take with me into every tournament.”

He added: “On the golf course, I’m trying to do the same things, mentally, one shot at a time. All the stuff you’ve heard a million times, but it really is true.

“If I get myself in a position where I feel a little bit nervous about a shot, it’s just a matter of thinking through the shot and about what you want to do with it instead of the result and being focused on the process.

“That’s a big thing for me in these tournaments.”

The Irish quartet are, of course, part of a wider – and exceptionally strong – European contingent that includes defending champion Martin Kaymer and the two leading players in the world rankings, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood. Is it to be their time? One of them? For sure, they have paid their dues.

And what of the Americans? Since Mickelson won the US Masters last year, each and every Major has gone to a non-American. Can a Nick Watney or a Dustin Johnson or a Rickie Fowler from the new breed, or indeed Lefty himself or perhaps Woods, end the sequence of non-American winners? It promises to be an intriguing four days. And, it seems the eyes of the golfing world are – these days – drawn to McIlroy. He is favourite for a reason.