Friday, March 22, 2013

McIlroy sorry for walkoff

(CNN) -- Rory McIlroy has apologized for his decision to walk off the course at last week's PGA Tour tournament, and insists he will not repeat the mistake anytime soon.

The world No. 1 left fellow professionals, fans and commentators in shock after leaving in the middle of his second round at the Honda Classic in Florida, where he was defending his title.

The Northern Irishman had two bogeys, a double bogey and a triple bogey before hitting his tee shot at the 18th into the water, having started at hole nine.

Read: McIlroy walks off as slump continues

That led him to walk away citing a sore wisdom tooth, although he now admits that his actions were wrong and regrettable.

"I realized pretty quickly that it wasn't the right thing to do," McIlroy told reporters Wednesday. "No matter how bad I was playing I should have stayed out there.

Read: Let's see some action Rory. Just do it!

"I wasn't in a good place with my golf game. My head was all over the place. It was a mistake. Everybody makes mistakes -- most of my mistakes are in the public eye.

"I'm 23. I'm still learning. I have learned from it and it won't happen again."

A year in sport is a long time and McIlroy's start to 2013 pales into insignificance compared to the form he was showing 12 months ago.

Following the signing of a 10-year deal with Nike, which is reported to be worth $250 million, McIlroy has failed to recapture the magic which secured him the 2011 U.S. Open and 2012 PGA Championship titles.

Read: McIlroy and Woods crash out in Abu Dhabi

Since changing from his Titleist clubs to the Nike brand, he has failed to shine, missing the cut at Abu Dhabi and exiting the WGC Accenture World Matchplay event in Arizona at the first-round stage.

With the Masters in Augusta on the horizon, McIlroy is aiming to rekindle the form which propelled him to the top of the PGA and European Tour money lists last year.

And he is now hoping to start his resurgence at the $8.75 million WGC Cadillac Championship at Doral Thursday -- beginning with his swing.

"I know it's purely the swing. The equipment is fantastic. No problem at all," he said of his new equipment.

"When I make a good swing it does exactly what I want. It doesn't make a difference what clubs I play.

Read: McIlroy wants putting saga sorted

"I'm trying to change my swing but I'm trying to change it back to where it was. I have been in that position before and I can get it back again.

"There's no quick fix in golf. You've got to get to the root of the problem. It's still a work in progress."

McIlroy also revealed that he is waiting before deciding whether to add an extra event to his schedule before the Masters begins on April 11. His only other scheduled tournament after Doral is the Houston Open from March 28-31.

"I was waiting to see how I do this week," he said. "Right now I haven't made a decision. The likelihood is I won't add an event. It's a possibility. I don't think it's likely."


Via: McIlroy sorry for walkoff

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...