Tuesday October 2, 2012
Dopey Rory almost misses tee-off due to mix-up over time
RYDER CUP
CHICAGO (Sept 28-30)
RORY McIlroy came within a handful of minutes of committing one of the biggest Ryder Cup blunders of all time on the final day of the Ryder Cup on Sunday.
He mistook which time zone he was in and was quietly getting ready to leave his hotel when he was informed that his tee-off time in his closing singles match against Keegan Bradley was in 25 minutes time.
There followed a high-speed dash in police car to get to the Medinah Country Club, where he arrived with just several minutes to spare.
McIlroy quickly pulled on his shoes, grabbed a banana, hit some putts and ambled on to a packed first tee to play the third singles match out.
Asked what had caused the confusion McIlroy said: “I looked at the tee times last night, and I must have saw them in eastern time and I thought it was 12:25 instead of 11:25.
“Walking out my hotel room door this morning at 11:00, and I get a phone call saying, ‘You’re on the tee in 25 minutes. I’ve never been so worried going to the golf course.
“Luckily there was a state trooper at the bottom outside the lobby of the hotel that took me here (to the course) and got me here a lot faster than we would have normally.
“I had just enough time to put my shoes on, have a couple of putts and go to the first tee.”
The world No.1 pushed his first tee shot right into the crowds lining the first fairway but he soon recovered and defeated Bradley 2 and 1, adding to the crucial pressure that was building on US as the first five European golfers out all won their ties.
“In a way it wasn’t a bad thing because I didn’t have time to think about it, and I just went out and played, and I played probably the best I’ve played all week,” McIlroy said.
“I still would have preferred it if I had more time to practise but I delivered my point for the team, and that was the most important thing.”
There was some light-hearted chants from fans as McIlroy played his round, but they had no effect on him. — AFP
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