It Was Just One Press Conference, But Man, Rory McIlroy Sounds Freed Up

It would’ve been easy for Rory McIlroy to back out of the Zurich Classic. No one would’ve blamed him. Less than two weeks ago, he became the sixth golfer in the history of the sport to capture the Career Grand Slam. If that doesn’t earn you a few weeks off, I don’t know what does.

But he didn’t. He made the trip to the Bayou alongside his partner, Shane Lowry, and the Irish duo is ready to defend the title they claimed in a playoff last season.

“It was important to me to—that was one of the things Shane said to me (at the Masters), like ‘are you still wanting to come and play Zurich,’ and I said, ‘absolutely.’ We're defending a title. We had so much fun last year here. Obviously it's important for me to honor that commitment.”

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Once I knew he was coming back to TPC Louisiana, my first thought was about his pre-tournament press conference. What was he gonna sound like? Has his attitude changed?

I know it’s just one sit-down with the media, but man, he sounds freed up.

In the presser, McIlroy described how he felt last year’s tournament acted as a springboard for himself and Lowry for the rest of the season, and mentioned how Lowry used a new putter for the first time here last year.

“He was struggling with his putting. He came here with a new putter. He holed a three-footer but under pressure to (get us into the playoff)—that's an important thing," McIlroy said. "Those little things can help kick you on to the rest of the year.”

Beside him, Lowry quickly chimed in with a joke about how he almost missed said putt, to which McIlroy replied, “Hey, I’ve certainly missed shorter.”

Both players and every member of the media shared a big laugh at the Northern Irishman’s self-dig referencing his short misses down the stretch at Pinehurst.

That’s the sound of a man who knows all that doesn’t mean a thing anymore. All those past failures, all those missed opportunities. Who cares? It’s all house money now, and a player with that mindset and God-given talent is a dangerous man.

Albeit a quick turnaround, the environment of the Zurich Classic is a great spot for McIlroy to make his return. It’s a laid-back event, he can have fun with his good buddy. Finally, he can let his hair down a little. There's not the immediate pressure of trying to win another signature event or major championship. McIlroy can simply play some good golf, rely on Lowry when he needs to, and just enjoy himself.

The one thing going against him is that he got a little sick from all the traveling he’s done over the last 10 days. Going from Augusta to London, Belfast, and back home to Florida ain't nothing.

“Once I got back from Ireland on Sunday, then when I woke up Monday morning, I could barely get out of bed," McIlroy said. "I was feeling that bad."

McIlroy said he's feeling a bit better now, thankfully, and still has some work to put in to make sure he and Lowry are in a spot to repeat.

“I think just to be here and feeling better is an achievement," McIlroy said. "But I need to put a little bit of practice and a bit of work in today to make sure that I don't let this man down this week.”

This week’s gonna be a good time, but this presser only got me more excited to see him bring that same attitude to Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship in a few weeks.

You can’t win all four majors in a year if you don’t win the first two, right?