But life is more than work. Maybe he feels he doesn't need to go out there and grind to play at the absolute pinnacle. And that's his decision.
Very strange Rory interview
But life is more than work. Maybe he feels he doesn't need to go out there and grind to play at the absolute pinnacle. And that's his decision.
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I’m not sure how to take it honestly, when he was a kid he wanted to be the greatest golfer ever and had all the talent to do it and now he’s kind of oh well about the game. I was hoping he’d challenge some of Tigers records and be the next face of golf. Good for him on his perspective but I am kind of surprised.
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He's still going to be in the mix and be a draw - look at Tiger. Been a looong time since he's won and he moves the needle. But I do agree with you to an extent - sure, he might be putting some sponsor dollars on the line. But at the same time, he's got a ton of money already, and if he plays reasonably well, continues to be likable, that's probably going to be enough to get some pretty lucrative contracts.
Yeah, I didn't get that from what you quoted. He's been #1 in the world. Won 4 majors. He said that isn't the top of his potential, but that if that is *all* he accomplished, that's still a helluva career.
Wake
Active member
It comes off as someone who has folded and is trying to alleviate the pressure. I doubt he really feels that way, I think he is lost and trying to find his way.
Among active players, only Tiger and Phil have more Major wins. The next pinnacle is a career grand slam, something only 5 golfers have done, and something only two other golfers have a chance to complete in the next couple of years...and one is almost 20 years his senior. He's the leading edge of one of the biggest talent explosions in golf, probably the biggest. I do think he's aware that the run he had between 2011 and 2014 might never be replicated. That doesn't mean he isn't fired up to compete. I think he's still kinda feeling some of the discontent from another Sunday in April, and that's got him feeling like that last Major isn't going to get any easier, but that's a LONG way from saying he doesn't care about competing and winning.
But, we don't know the question that precipitated Rory's answer.
I tend to lean this direction too. I can respect his attempt at perspective but I'm just not sure I buy it...listening to the interview he sounds like he is trying to convince himself IMO.
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I mean, I'm not all that concerned about my profession beyond doing a good job and making enough money to support my family.
How can I fault a guy like Rory for looking at his profession any differently? He'll never be Tiger, or Jack... What difference does it make?
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Maybe.. Or he just genuinely doesn't care about being a 'great' of the game. Maybe he's just glad to do what he's done and cares more about other things in life (this has already been said about working out vs golf). He's worth over 100 million, what else is there?
Wake
Active member
I guess I just don't think you become the best golfer in the world without having an innate drive to win. I do believe it may not be the priority it once was, but I don't buy that he doesn't care.
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I think this is why we'll never see another dominating presence in golf again like Jack or Tiger. A golfer can literally be set for life with proper money management by winning 1 tournament. Before today Kevin Na had never won a tournament and had made millions of dollars by not winning up to this point. Golfers can make a comfortable living and don't have to stress themselves out to be able to earn a living and take care of their families. I know if I was in their position, I wouldn't have the same killer instinct to try to win tournaments if I was living comfortably and have enough to survive for the rest of my life.
Mark_UK
Legal Alien
I don’t read that as him not caring if he wins another major.
#FiberLaunch
#FiberLaunch
I don't see it as someone folding under pressure or having lost their way at all, I see it as someone who accepts that life will give them what it will and it isn't worth worrying about
If I was in his position, I would be grateful for the achievements and the financial security and just enjoy life now that he is married
If I was in his position, I would be grateful for the achievements and the financial security and just enjoy life now that he is married
Wake
Active member
I probably would too, which is part of the reason I never became the world's best golfer.
I just have never bought the idea that these guys become fat and happy. I think guys like Rory, Tiger, Sampras, Brady don't know how to be fat and happy, all they know how to do is strive to be the best. You don't get to that level of golfer by just wanting to be rich, I really don't think you do. They might go through stages where they aren't prioritizing it and putting in the work they used to because they are otherwise happy, but I think the drive is still there, and inside it eats at them that the results aren't there. I think lesser players might lose the drive, but I don't think the drive it takes to become the dominant golfer Rory once was just disappears.
I recently read Andre Agassi's autobiography, and he talks about going through the phase in his career where Rory is now. He was doing everything wrong, and saying things like he didn't care. But that wasn't the case at all.
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I completely agree with this. I think us as fans of the sport selfishly want him to show a killer instinct because we know how good he can be. We don't like hearing our sports stars are shifting priorities and that the game isn't the biggest part of his life anymore.
And who knows, maybe in a year something will happen and he'll have a completely different mindset.
I don't have a problem with what he's saying, but between this and some other interviews (i.e. "I don't care about growing the game"), he strikes me as someone who doesn't always get the bigger picture. Golf at the top level is lucrative because sports fans want to see the top talents battle for the biggest trophies.
If all of the top players said "nah, I'm good - just playing for fun now", then pro golf would lose its appeal and the money that comes with it. The golfers who gave Rory the opportunity to be rich (i.e. Tiger, Arnie) didn't talk like he does...
If all of the top players said "nah, I'm good - just playing for fun now", then pro golf would lose its appeal and the money that comes with it. The golfers who gave Rory the opportunity to be rich (i.e. Tiger, Arnie) didn't talk like he does...
I think in this day and age when everyone feels like they have to be politcally correct and follow the corporate direction with everything they say, I think it is refreshing that Rory is happy to just tell it as he sees it
Exactly, we all know what he is capable of, but only those really close to him will know everything that goes on and the reasons why he has said what he has
Personally I would love to see him win at Augusta and then go on to win a good few more majors, but if he decides that family life is his priority then good for him. We can only imagine what it is like travelling the world to different tournaments with a young family or being away from them a lot of the year (depending on their schedule)
Exactly, we all know what he is capable of, but only those really close to him will know everything that goes on and the reasons why he has said what he has
Personally I would love to see him win at Augusta and then go on to win a good few more majors, but if he decides that family life is his priority then good for him. We can only imagine what it is like travelling the world to different tournaments with a young family or being away from them a lot of the year (depending on their schedule)
True. He's already one of the best of his generation and winning a 5th major isn't going to change any part of his life.
What does he have to panic about? He wants to win, but he isn't struggling to put food on the table.
He thinks he's better than 4 majors, so do most golf fans. The lift changing event for Rors isn't the major. I have a hunch he is focusing on other life changing thing. More important things than a gold jacket.
Perspective. Learning not to let others' expectations dictate his life. Good on him.
I'd argue if his 5th Major involves a green jacket, he goes from "Really great golfer" to "All time great." While that may not change his perception of himself, I think it changes a lot of how the world sees him. I'd argue that what he said is an internal monologue, a need to stop seeing what a putt or a shot is worth in relation to his larger career. He has the advantage over a lot of his peers that he the only hump he's trying to get over is such absurdly rarefied air that if he doesn't, even getting close will still net him a legitimate space at the table for top-20 greatest golfers of all time, if not higher.
Still, I think he doesn't want to stand over a putt thinking about how winning that weekend affects his all-time legacy. And if that means occasionally he says that another piece of hardware doesn't change his life, that's OK in my book.
Still, I think he doesn't want to stand over a putt thinking about how winning that weekend affects his all-time legacy. And if that means occasionally he says that another piece of hardware doesn't change his life, that's OK in my book.
And I think it is this that he is letting go of, the pressure of feeling like he has to perform for others and validate the fact that he is one of the best golfers of all time
For some people, having the weight of expectation can be too much, whereas others need it to be that push that gets them that elusive win - maybe this change in attitude will relax him and allow him to play more freely
It isn't a comparison, but if you look at Tiger now he seems more relaxed as he appears to have come to terms with his past and injuries and is playing some good golf again