Stay patient, Tiger tells Rory
Tiger Woods had some words of comfort for Rory McIlroy on Tuesday, telling the struggling Northern Irishman that he endured a similar form slump early in his career.
The 37-year-old American and the 24-year-old McIlroy have had contrasting seasons so far, with Woods winning four tournaments and regaining the world number one spot from the USPGA champion, who is winless all year.
The trouble for McIlroy stems from his decision to switch equipment providers, moving from Titleist to Nike, the long-time suppliers of Woods. He missed the cut, as did Woods, in his first tournament of the season in Abu Dhabi and has struggled to get fully to grips with his new clubs, missing the cut once again in the Irish Open, his last tournament before Muirfield.
Woods though said that such changes took time to absorb, especially for a player as young and developing as McIlory.
There were words of advice also for McIlroy from Nick Faldo.
“You have a window of opportunity, that’s my only words of wisdom to Rory. You have, say, a 20-year window as an athlete. Concentrate on golf. Nothing else,” he said.
Tiger ‘good to go’ for Open
Woods also shrugged off lingering injury concerns on Tuesday as he prepared to launch his quest for a 15th major crown at Muirfield.
“Everything is good to go,” Woods told a pre-tournament press conference when prodded about the nagging injury, which dogged his bid for the US Open at Merion in June. “The elbow feels good.”
“I feel very good about my game. I’ve had a pretty good year this year so far; won four times. Even though I haven’t won a major championship in five years, I’ve been there in a bunch of them where I’ve had chances. I just need to keep putting myself there and eventually I’ll get some,” the American said.
Woods also hinted that he may employ the no-driver strategy the American used to ease to a two-shot victory in the 2006 British Open.
“I only hit one driver that week,” Woods said referring to his Hoylake experience. “This course is similar to that, it’s quick,” he added.
Matsuyama set for Open debut
Rising Japanese star Hideki Matsuyama has sought out the advice of veteran compatriot Shigeki Maruyama to help him prepare for his British Open debut at Muirfield this week.
The 21-year-old, who was Asian amateur champion in 2011 and 2012, made his professional debut only in April when he started his fourth year at a Japanese university. “Shigeki told me that the wind is usually strong here at Muirfield and I need to hit the ball low. And we talked a lot about how to hit the low shots and he helped me a lot there.”
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