Rory McIlroy has been reflecting on his most successful year to date. Describing it as an 'interesting' year, the 22 year old has much to reflect on after a year in which he won his first major title.
In April the Northern Irishman held a four shot lead going into the final round of the Masters, only to card an 80 in his final round to gift Charl Schwartzel the title. Two months later however, he won the US Open at the Congressional course by an enourmous eight shots, with the sort of performance that was reserved in the past exclusively for Tiger Woods. Many saw McIlroy's disastrous last day at the Masters as a sign that he may never have the mental edge required to win a major, saying that his collapse after a triple bogey on the 10th was confirmation of that. McIlroy however believes that he needed that disaster to ready himself for future success. "I think that disappointing low (of the Masters) was needed to experience the incredible high of Congressional" Following his win at the US Open, he has pushed his game on, cementing himself as not just one of the best golfers in Europe, but as the No 2 golfer in the world. He took the European Race to Dubai to the final day of the season, just losing out to Luke Donald, who has himself had a truly exceptional year to give himself world No 1 status. After the Dubai competition, Donald described McIlory as "more talented than Tiger Woods". Coming from a man who played through the very best years of Woods' career that is quite a compliment. So after a season that began with disaster, McIlory can reflect on a job well done this year, with much experience gained. "It's been an interesting year, a lot has happened. There's been incredible highs and the one very disappointing low. It's been a great year. When I get a chance to reflect on it it's been a fantastic year and I wouldn't take it back." The 22 year olds rivals will be mindful of the fact that despite a major and the number 2 world ranking, there is still so much more to come from McIlory.
