The rise of Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is feeling the pressure, said Cole Moreton in the London Daily Mail. In June, McIlroy won golf’s U.S. Open in convincing fashion, posting the lowest score in the tournament’s 111-year history. Suddenly, the shaggy-haired, boyish Irishman is being hailed as the heir apparent to the fallen Tiger Woods.

“The way my life is changing does worry me a bit, to be honest, but I just try to concentrate on the game,” says McIlroy, who just turned 22. “It’s been a strange year, the way things have panned out. I knew I had to up the intensity at the start of the year, but I never thought it would go like this.” Like Woods, McIlroy was tutored early on by his father, who eventually took three jobs to pay for his son’s professional coaching. “This is not about pushy parents, though,” says McIlroy sharply. “I had the dream. I was the one hassling my dad to take me to the driving range every night.”

For the moment, he’s trying his best to stay humble and to keep the win at the Open in perspective. “It’s not the greatest moment of your life. It’s golf. You know what I mean? People are very surprised when I say that. I realize that in the grand picture of life, golf is a game. It’s there to be played and enjoyed. You play tournaments. You win some, you lose some. Big deal.”

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