Wiser McIlroy looks forward to 2014

It was nice to get a win, says Irish golfer.

THOUSAND OAKS: Rory McIlroy insists he did not ‘need’ a win, but he had to admit — it felt pretty good.

The two-time major winner from Northern Ireland started 2013 at the top of the golf world.

But he endured a frustrating season before finally finding his way to the winner’s circle for the first time in more than 12 months at the Australian Open last week.

McIlroy did it in style, overhauling Masters champion Adam Scott with a final-round 66 to win by a stroke.

“Did I need the win?” said McIlroy. “Probably not. Was it nice to get the win? Of course. But I felt like I saw enough good golf in there to know that it was very close, and it wasn’t going to be long before I did win.

“What I was happy with the most was the limited amount of times that I have gotten in contention this year, I have played well. I have played well down the stretch. I’ve played well under pressure.”

As the disappointing finishes piled up, however, those nuances were lost on many of McIlroy’s critics, who questioned decision to switch to new equipment and even his dedication to the game.

Finding a way to tune out that chatter was part of what he learned this year, said McIlroy.

“It’s hard not to listen to it,” he said. “But you have to try to block it out. I feel like I’ve learned to deal with it much better.”

McIlroy said he had found it particularly unproductive to follow feedback from the public on such sites as Twitter too closely.

“What I feel like I’ve learned this year is they think that your good is better than what it is, and they think your bad is worse than what it is... there’s no real balance in it. So there is no point in getting carried away with the hype.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2013.

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