Paul McGinley has hit out at criticism coming Rory McIlroy’s way following the Northern Irishman’s victory at The Masters this past week.
McIlroy added his name to the history books once again on his latest visit to Augusta National. The 36-year-old became the fourth player to win The Masters in successive years.
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It was perhaps the first sign that McIlroy could really kick on now that he is not dealing with the burden of trying to complete the Career Grand Slam.
But there is another reason that McIlroy was well-placed to retain his title at the first major of the year.
Paul McGinley insists claim about Rory McIlroy is complete nonsense
McIlroy had not played in a PGA Tour event since The Players Championship leading into The Masters. Instead, the six-time major champion ended up making several trips to Augusta National to prepare for arguably the greatest tournament in the game.
Bizarrely, some have questioned whether that gave him an unfair advantage. But speaking on Off The Ball, Paul McGinley insisted that McIlroy’s victory is not tainted in any way.
Photo by Kohjiro Kinno/Augusta National/Getty Images
“Yeah, it’s complete nonsense. It really is, just people looking for a story on the back of it. All of the players could have played Augusta National if they want to. Once you get an invite, which you normally do around Christmas, you’re welcome to the club if you want to go and practice, but you’ve got to be with a member. So you’ve got to know a member. And if you don’t know a member, at the very elite part of the game, which all of these guys, it’s not difficult to find a member who will happily take you on site for a day or two so you can do a bit of prep, should you want to do so,” he said.
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“Rory’s got a very good friend, a fella called Jimmy Dunne, who is an amazing guy, Notre Dame background, Irish roots, and he’s a very close friend of Rory and Rory’s dad. Now even if The Masters wasn’t on, Rory goes up there regularly with Jimmy Dunne, because it’s a friendship thing. Jimmy would have been hosting him up there whenever Rory wanted to go. And that’s just the way it is.
“Justin Thomas spent two or three days there last year as well. Tiger Woods always did that in getting ready for The Masters. So it’s something that happens all the time, but remember, there were big tournaments to be played for on the PGA Tour. There’s a couple of million dollars first prize for the three weeks before that, and not everybody has the luxury of not having to worry about prize money that Rory does. His focus is very much on winning major championships, and other guys, the focus is on having a really good PGA Tour season and trying to win one of those three events leading into it.”
How popular Rory McIlroy remains among American fans
It is incredibly strange to act as if McIlroy had some kind of ace up his sleeve.
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Those same figures were not complaining, for example, when Keegan Bradley was named as the Ryder Cup captain having had a strong association with Bethpage as a youngster.
Similarly, no one complains when a player gets the opportunity to take part in a major at their home course. It is part and parcel of the game.
It was asked of McGinley whether McIlroy gets given a harder time by the American media. But he claimed that this recent talking point is an anomaly.
“No [there is not a target on McIlroy’s back in the States], I don’t think so. Rory is incredibly popular. Rory’s the most popular player in the game in my opinion, quite comfortably. And sometimes in Ireland, we really, really under appreciate how big a star he is,” he said.
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“When you come over to America and you go to any tournament, PGA Tour, whether you go to Europe, whether you go to the major championships, Rory is the guy. He’ll have huge crowds following him. I was doing some prep, I think it was Tuesday, and I saw Rory was going down a hole and it was packed, it was like it was Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon, the amount of people watching. The very next game behind him was Brooks Koepka, and there wasn’t a handful of people watching Brooks Koepka, who’s also won five majors by the way.
“It’s not that Brooks is unpopular, it’s just that Rory is so hugely popular. He’s a huge superstar over in America and he transcends golf.”
Anyone who knows anything about golf seems to have not batted an eyelid at McIlroy taking the opportunity to get plenty of practice in at Augusta National ahead of The Masters.
It is good to see that the large majority are continuing to applaud one of the greatest the game has ever seen.
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