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05/12 13:30 CDT Rory McIlroy hits Hollywood, dines at the White House, still
finds time to win grand slam
Rory McIlroy hits Hollywood, dines at the White House, still finds time to win
grand slam
By DAN GELSTON
AP Sports Writer
NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. (AP) --- Rory McIlroy can be spotted on screen in movies
featuring Hollywood's biggest stars.
He had speaking lines --- pulling off a "Saved by the Bell" joke --- in Adam
Sandler's "Happy Gilmore 2" and even snagged a bit part for his wife alongside
him for a party scene in the recent Anne Hathaway movie "The Devil Wears Prada
2."
There's something about sequels that fits McIlroy just fine these days.
No red carpet needed.
Try green jackets. Two of them, after he joined Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and
Jack Nicklaus as the only repeat winners of the Masters.
The 37-year-old McIlroy is living his best life ahead of this weekend's PGA
Championship, feeling at ease as he navigates not only the pressures of trying
to win another major, but time management that comes with outside
opportunities, as well --- running the gamut from movie cameos to schmoozing
with the Kelce brothers on their podcast to a state dinner during the visit of
King Charles III at the White House with President Donald Trump.
"Sometimes you have to enjoy the perks," McIlroy said, "because I know that
isn't going to last forever."
McIlroy, winner of the 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships, even found time to
squeeze in rounds two weeks ago at Aronimink Golf Club to get a feel for the
course before the first round starts Thursday. McIlroy played his only rounds
at the suburban Philadelphia course at the 2018 BMW Championship and found the
early visits can sometimes give him a bit of an edge headed into otherwise
unfamiliar courses for the bulk of the field.
"I definitely think courses we don't see very often, whether it's here or
Shinnecock or Frisco, it certainly has benefited me over the years," McIlroy
said. "I remember the first time I did it for a major championship was
Congressional in 2011 on the back of a recommendation from Jack Nicklaus. So,
it's helped me over the years."
The advice from Nicklaus for the early trip to Congressional Country Club was a
success --- McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open by eight strokes.
McIlroy is trying to join Ben Hogan (1953), Arnold Palmer (1960), Jack Nicklaus
(1972), Tiger Woods (2002) and Jordan Spieth (2015) as the only golfers to win
the first two majors of the year in the modern rotation.
"Coming into this tournament feels a lot different than what it did last year,"
McIlroy said. "I feel like I've got some nice clear road ahead to try to get
some more of these majors."
For as much has gone right for McIlroy --- and at only 37, he shows no sign of
slowing down --- he's happy to admit when he gets something wrong.
LIV Golf had a seemingly endless supply of Saudi money that suddenly is coming
to an end. The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia bankrolled LIV and
seemingly had a deal in place to join commercial forces with the PGA Tour. The
Saudis walked away from LIV and McIlroy admitted Tuesday at Aronimink that he
never should have advocated for them to invest in the tour.
"I can admit when I'm wrong, and that was one that I did get wrong," McIlroy
said. "I think it was always a possibility to happen. I think everyone knows
like with everything that's happening in the Middle East, that had a lot to do;
but whenever you have funding tied so much to the geopolitical landscape in the
world, that's a tricky road to navigate."
McIlroy, the only European with the career Grand Slam, hasn't found much else
to worry about this year.
He played last weekend at Quail Hollow (one of his favorite courses), making
the Truist Championship his lone tournament since he won at Augusta.
"I need to take the time after the Masters to reset and decompress and get
myself in the right mental space again to get myself up for this tournament and
keep going for the U.S. Open and The Open Championship," he said.
Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite to win at Aronimink, followed by
McIlroy.
After a career full of chasing, chasing, chasing and falling short at Augusta,
McIlroy was about swallowed by the enormity last year of actually winning the
Masters.
The fulfilment of a career Grand Slam left him wondering, what's next?
Turned out, the answer was as simple as winning Augusta again.
He now has six majors, tied with Nick Faldo, Lee Trevino and Phil Mickelson.
The professional bucket list is about full --- how about a gold medal at the
Los Angeles Olympics? --- and the only real challenge is to see how high he can
rise among the career major winners.
McIlroy's not even close to yelling, "Cut!" on his career. But if there are
more film projects out there looking for an actor to play, well, give the
Northern Irishman a shout.
"There's going to be a day where I'm not sitting up here and I'm not competing
for major championships and I'm not doing what I'm doing," he said. "I guess
while I'm doing it, I have to enjoy it, as well."
___
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
