Georgie Bingham: Shall we talk about Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed?
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks past Patrick Reed of The United States on the practice putting green on Day Two the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on January 27, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images).
Shall we talk about Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed? Not the Dubai-ball-tree-binoculars incident- I think teegate AND treegate has been done to death - no let’s talk about the final round… and their 18 holes of righteous indignation.
A script writers dream; McIlroy - unofficial PGA & DP tour hero, spokesperson for good and good sense being hunted down by golf’s pantomime villain. Reed doesn’t like people talking about him and the controversies he seems to get himself into. McIlroy thinks that the right to a peaceful Christmas eve isn’t unreasonable and who can blame him.
Stressful week huh? McIlroy is thriving in his current righteous role in golf in the same way Reed seems to relish being centre of attention for almost the opposite. These incidents - distractions you could call them - be it anything Rory says being poo-poo’d by golf’s Mr Shouty Greg Norman - or Reed being in near permanent fight/flight mode, made for some blockbuster golf on Monday. Reed’s devastating charge not quelled until a thrilling final 72nd hole birdie from McIlroy is turbo charged, thrilling and extraordinary theatre.
Golf is supposed to be a calm control sport, a sport where the caddies job is to keep the player focused but level; make adjustments for adrenaline and ensure no chaos… remember when Harry Diamond, Rory’s caddy talked him into taking a drop from a difficult lie on the 18th at Quail Hollow at the Wells Fargo Championship leading to his first win in 910 days? That was golf as we knew it. Sensible decisions for calm, controlled outcomes. That was only 500 days ago, this latest inception of McIlroy - we are probably on McIlroy 4.0 now - this is controlled calm aggression. Our top two last week were MAD calm and thriving on fight. I find it hard to get my head around this new blockbuster level of brilliance that means chaos is the driver for control rather than the excuse for a collapse. Conflict seems to be the force that’s making their games this good.
I saw journalist Joel Beall tweet a Jordan Spieth quote last week on why he tends to play his best when there’s a little chaos “I don’t know why but I tend to be the most comfortable in the uncomfortable”. This, right here is the nub of what happened in Dubai, and I guess while I am sad about the state of conflict in the men’s game, I AM here for the golf it’s producing.
