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Brooks Koepka or Bryson DeChambeau — who do you think Rory McIlroy would rather have a pint with at the 19th hole?
With the week of the 149th Open at Royal St George’s upon us and his game seemingly in disarray, it’s fair to assume it’s not a dilemma high on McIlroy’s list of priorities.
But, at the launch of a new video platform on Sky Q — called GolfPass, of which Rory is a founder — he was characteristically forthcoming on that left-field query and more orthodox questions regarding the season’s final major.
Rory McIlroy summoned the spirit of Sam Snead when he was asked about his natural talen
He even summoned up the spirit of American great Sam Snead at one point with a positively bristling response when it was put to him that it must be frustrating being the most naturally gifted talent in the sport but so inconsistent.
It used to annoy the hell out of Snead when he was called the most naturally gifted player of his generation. He would snarkily point out that he actually worked from morning till night on the practice range so that his swing appeared so natural. McIlroy was more polite but got his point across forcibly enough.
‘I don’t like the talented tag because it suggests if you are naturally talented you don’t work hard or practise,’ he said. ‘Talent is simply the hard work that you have put in over the years. There is no one in the world of golf who has hit more golf balls than I have.
‘I get where people are coming from but I’ve been playing golf since I was two years old so that naturally talented thing irks me as it gives off the impression I am naturally lazy and don’t work as hard, which is obviously not the case at all.’
