Rory McIlroy apologizes again during a press conference in Doral, Florida on Wednesday. McIlroy is at the Doral Blue Monster Course getting set for this weekend’s WGC-Cadillac Championship. The tournament will host a field that includes Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods , and Rickie Fowler.
Last week, McIlroy stormed off the ninth hole and withdrew from the Honda Classic after playing seven over par through the first eight holes of day two. McIlroy explained in his press conference Wednesday that the abrupt withdrawal wasn’t just due to a sore wisdom tooth.
“I think it was a build up of everything, ” McIlroy said about withdrawing. “I’ve been putting a lot of pressure on myself to perform, and I’ve been working so hard and not really getting much out of it. That’s just been the frustrating thing, and that’s what happened.”
McIlroy looks to put last weeks disaster behind him as Doral starts Thursday. The 23-year-old has missed two cuts to start the season, and was bounced in the first round of the Match Play Championships as the No.1 seed.
Ranked the best golfer in the world to start the season, McIlroy signed a deal with Nike for upwards of $20 million during the offseason.
McIlroy made the switch from Titleist, but has throw aside the idea that his switch had any affect on his game. The key to McIlroy’s talk with the press was his recognition of the mistakes he made last week.
‘I guess for me, some people have the pleasure of making mistakes in private, ” McIlroy explained. “Most of my mistakes are in the public eye. I regret what I did.”
You can be sure that McIlroy will not withdraw from this weekend’s tournament at Doral, as there is no cut. To make matters that much more interesting, McIlroy will tee off with Luke Donald and Tiger Woods. The trio are the top three ranked golfers in the world, and will easily have the biggest crowd watching each and every swing.
No matter how Rory McIlroy fairs this weekend at Doral, he surely has spent a lot of time filling in the blanks from the Honda Classic a week ago. McIlroy apologizes again in an effort to clear up the disgraceful exit last week, but must remain focused on the tournament at hand if he expects to play better and compete at Doral.