New Clubs Hold No Fears - McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy has no fears that ditching the Titleist equipment that has taken him to number one in the world will result in any diminishing of his golfing powers.

The USPGA champion's switch to Nike clubs next season, a deal that media reports estimate will be worth $250 million over 10 years, has been the subject of much debate with six-times major winner Nick Faldo among those questioning his decision.

Asked by reporters in Dubai on Tuesday if he had any concerns the change would jeopardise his confidence or form, McIlroy replied: "No, not at all.

"I think all the manufacturers make great equipment nowadays and it's all very similar - a lot of them get their clubs made at the same factories. I don't think it will make any difference."

Twice major winner McIlroy will bid a fond farewell to his old clubs at the $8 million DP World Tour Championship that starts on Thursday, the end-of-season showpiece event on the European Tour.

"I've started the process of trying a few new things," said the 23-year-old Irishman.

"I've tinkered about a little bit with the new ones, enough to feel comfortable going into next season" - Rory McIlroy.

"I'm still playing with my Titleist clubs - this is the last week - but I've tinkered about a little bit with the new ones, enough to feel comfortable going into next season."

McIlroy is delighted with the progress he has made this season and European Tour chief executive George O'Grady presented him with a special money clip on Tuesday.

"I thought we would take this moment to acknowledge the extraordinary performance of Rory this year, winning our Race To Dubai money-list before coming to the final championship, and winning the money-list in America too," said O'Grady.

"He played brilliantly all year and conducted himself in a manner where anybody would be proud to say, 'He's our champion'."

McIlroy said he felt "proud and honoured" to join the long list of greats to have won the European money-list.

"I've had four goes at it and it was great to be able to do it this year," he added.

"It's been a phenomenal year but I've still got one tournament left and I want to finish the season strong by picking up two trophies at the end of the week."

McIlroy agreed with many of his fellow players when he said the importance of the DP World Tour Championship had been diluted after he clinched the money-list title nine days ago.

However, he disagreed with Ryder Cup team mate Luke Donald who earlier in the day urged the tour to consider recalibrating the money-list ahead of the tournament in order to keep the excitement going until the final event of the season.

"I think the format is good," said McIlroy. "It's a season-long race - that's the way it is.

"I guess it is a bit of an anti-climax this week but as I said earlier I would love to pick up both trophies come Sunday."

McIlroy was undoubtedly influenced by the fact he missed out on overall victory in the FedExCup despite having won two of the four tournaments in this year's US playoff series.

Ultimately he knows he will be remembered for his wins in the 'big four' tournaments but he refuses to put on any additional pressure by targeting Jack Nicklaus's record haul of 18 major victories.

"I've always said I'm never going to put a number on it," said the 2011 US Open winner. "I don't want to do that, I just want to get my third.

"When I get my third then I want to try and get my fourth. A career grand slam is probably the next obvious goal," added McIlroy referring to a clean sweep of the British Open, US Masters, US Open and US PGA Championship.

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Two Mac's Open European Defence

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Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell will launch Europe’s bid to retain The Ryder Cup against Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker in Friday’s opening foursomes match.

The Northern Irish pair, who teamed up three times in Europe’s victory at The Celtic Manor Resort, were chosen by José María Olazábal to lead out at Medinah.

Unbeaten foursomes pair Luke Donald and Sergio Garcia will look to extend their incredible record against Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in game two, before Lee Westwood and Francesco Molinari take on Jason Dufner and Zach Johnson.

The final game of the morning session also promises to be a classic as English pair Ian Poulter and Justin Rose face World Number Two Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.Woods and Stricker boast a 6-2 winning record together, but their last two games were the 6 and 5 beating by Westwood and Donald in Wales two years ago and then a 7 and 6 loss to Adam Scott and K J Choi at the start of last November's Presidents Cup.

They did not play together again that week after that.

It means the four left out by Olazábal, who shed a few tears during the opening ceremony at the first mention of the late Seve Ballesteros, were Scot Paul Lawrie, Germany's former World Number One Martin Kaymer, Swede Peter Hanson and Belgian newcomer Nicolas Colsaerts.

The quartet kept waiting to play by Love were his two Major winners this year - Masters Tournament champion Bubba Watson and US Open Champion Webb Simpson - plus Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

It would have been a huge shock if McIlroy and McDowell were not together again.

Close friends and compatriots, they had one win, one half and one loss two years ago, but won three out of four in the 2009 Seve Trophy in Paris and have twice been Omega Mission Hills World Cup partners as well.

In Donald, Garcia and Westwood Europe can call on three players with outstanding foursomes records in the event.

Donald will be looking to make it a perfect seven out of seven.

His first four wins in 2004 and 2006 came with Garcia as his partner and two years ago he won with Poulter and then with Westwood.

Garcia is unbeaten in nine foursomes, eight of them victories, while Westwood has not lost any of his last ten games in the format going back to 1999.

His partners in that time have been Darren Clarke, Garcia, Colin Montgomerie, Kaymer and Donald - and now he links up with the Italian whose debut two years ago came alongside his brother Edoardo.

A month after that Molinari pipped Westwood to his first World Golf Championships title in Shanghai - with the best of the rest nine shots further back.

Garcia remains the only teenager ever to appear in the match, his debut in 1999 coming a month after he and Woods battled for the US PGA Championship at Medinah.

Jesper Parnevik was his first partner and they won their opening three games and got a half in the other, while in subsequent foursomes the Spaniard has won with Westwood, Donald and Olazábal.

Rose and Poulter won two of their three games together four years ago, Rose not making the 2010 match despite winning twice in America that summer.

Mickelson has won only two of his last 14 pairs games in the event, but was always expected to start with Bradley in his ninth appearance, an American record.

Olazábal told the crowd in his speech his side "have every intention of taking it (the cup) back home" with them and also managed to pay his latest tribute to his former partner Ballesteros, who died in May last year following a long battle with a brain tumour.

"Of course I can't forget a great friend in the name of Seve Ballesteros," he said. "He was a special man. I believe Seve reflected the core of Ryder Cup values - no quitting and be prepared to chase any adversity.

"From him I learnt what true passion is all about. Seve, we miss you."

All eight omitted from the opening session will be hoping to enter the fray in the afternoon fourballs.

It is the first time since 1995 - Mickelson's debut - that neither he nor Woods have been involved in the opening game.

Snedeker's quick pace played a part in Love's decision to go with him and Furyk first.

The hardest part of Love's day, though, was telling "four of the best golfers in the world" they would be sitting on the bench all morning.

He described Woods and Stricker - and also Johnson and Dufner - as "pretty cool customers at the end".

McIlroy said: "I can't wait. Leading the side off we are going to go out there and get the blue on the board early.

"It is a great honour to lead Europe out and to be honest they are not the opponents we were expecting.

"We know that their team is so strong all the way through, but it was a little surprise to see a rookie in their first group."

McDowell added: "We are going to use the World Number One's power and precision and I will just knock a few tap-ins in.

"I am very proud to be playing alongside my great friend and the greatest player on the planet.

"I was expecting Phil and Keegan to go first, but obviously Davis has his strategies.

"Tomorrow morning's session is hugely important and José María has stressed that. We really feel that it is very important to make a fast start.

"We are pretty pumped for this whole thing."

Donald said: "We've obviously both got unbeaten records in foursomes and we have played well together in the past.

"It should be a great match against two very good players. They obviously know each other well, but Sergio and I do and we have had some great success together.

"Obviously Phil has a lot of experience and Keegan is a rookie, but it's not a pairing that surprises you because they play a lot of golf together.

"But we've had some success against Phil before and hopefully we can again tomorrow.

"It should be a great atmosphere with Phil playing and hopefully I will get some support as I live in Chicago and Sergio obviously has some special memories from here." He was runner-up to Woods in the 1999 US PGA.

Garcia added: "He's my best friend on Tour and we get on great in foursomes together.

"We are going to try as hard as we can to bring back a point for the European Team."

Friday morning foursome matches:

7.20am Rory McIlroy & Graeme McDowell v Jim Furyk & Brandt Snedeker

7.35am Luke Donald & Sergio Garcia v Phil Mickelson & Keegan Bradley

7.50am Lee Westwood & Francesco Molinari v Jason Dufner & Zach Johnson

8.05am Ian Poulter & Justin Rose v Steve Stricker & Tiger Woods

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McIlroy to Break More US Records

McIlroy smiling in Maryland

Fred Daly a Northern Irish professional won The Open Championship in 1947 at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, Hoylake and was the first player from the island to have won the event until Padraig Harrington in 2007 at Royal Birkdale – which he repeated in 2008. In that same year the Dubliner bridged the gap in the PGA Championship when at Oakland Hills he saw off the challenge of Sergio Garcia, and in doing so, became the first European to win the event since Tommy Armour in 1930. 

Daly was born in Portrush, County Antrim and was the professional at the Balmoral Club in Belfast when he won the Open. He died in 1990 and was not to see his feat emulated by Harrington. Or the feat of another Portrush born golfer, Graeme McDowell, who last summer made further history by ending the forty year drought at the US Open at Pebble Beach, repeating a feat last done by Tony Jacklin. This summer at the Congressional in Maryland it looks like there will be another Northern Ireland repeat with Rory McIlroy entering the final round of the US Open holding a record breaking eight shot lead. 

Like Harrington’s back to back Open wins, the Holywood golfer looks like he won’t let the grass grow after GMAC’s breakthrough last year, given the manner in which is he playing this week. 

Whatever is in the water in the North East part of the island should now be bottled as the conveyor belt of talent continues in the wake of the achievements of Darren Clarke, Ronan Rafferty, David Feherty, and the generations previous such as Jimmy Heggarty, back to the time of Fred Daly and Norman Drew. The current European Tour is alive and well with the magic of Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey, and the likes of Gareth Shaw, Jonathan Caldwell and Simon Thornton, still chasing the dream. With Portstewart’s, Paul Cutler, looking set also to make the breakthrough from the amateur ranks in due course. 

For former Ryder Cup star, David Feherty, who has been resident in the US for a few decades now, the reasons behind all this talent may again prove beyond explanation as it did the last time he interviewed McIlroy at Quail Hollow in 2010 – after the 20 year old walked off the course with a record breaking round of 62. 

Although since that day the warnings have been coming in the majors with increased speed and it was no surprise he caused a stir at St Andrews with his opening round, or the improved consistency over three days at the Masters. 

With that Sunday in April still fresh in his mind McIlroy and his caddie JP Fitzgerald have been dreaming of the moment when they could set the record straight and Sunday at The Congressional it will no doubt happen. Which for the Americans though, such news will be another reminder that for another twelve months the US Open trophy will be everywhere but on the PGA Tour, adding to the departure of the Masters to South African Charl Schwartzel on the European Tour, and the fact that Martin Kaymer of Germany will return to Georgia to defend the PGA Championship later in the year at the Atlanta Athletic Club. 

If you add the Accenture World Match play title held by Luke Donald, and The Open held by Louis Oosthuizen and then the 2010 Ryder Cup by Europe, it is a momentary reminder that in the absence of Tiger Woods the American golf cupboards are currently very bare. 

But for the fans watching behind the ropes in Bethesda those global trophy battles will not matter, as they are seeing a scintillating display of golf from a Rory McIlroy that exudes everything that is good about the game – manner, poise, talent, enjoyment and a carefree swagger. A breath of fresh air from the over intensity, ill temper and swearing that has afflicted Tiger Woods in more recent years, which for younger fans watching must be more enjoyable. 

However the comparisons are closer between the two in other ways, given their precocious talent, and could be more so after Sunday as Woods won his first major at Augusta when he was 22 in 1997. So did Jack Nicklaus in 1962 when he won the US Open. 

Last May McIlroy turned 22 years of age and in collecting the trophy on Sunday is set to break those records and become the youngest ever winner. 

One imagines it is only the first of many.

Courtesy of Irish Golf Club Gazette