Well, let me tell ya somethin’ ’bout this fella, Rory. Folks keep askin’, “how often does rory choke?” Now, I ain’t no fancy golf expert, ya hear? But I seen enough on the TV to know when a fella’s havin’ a bad day. And this Rory, bless his heart, he seems to have ’em more than some.
Seems like just when he’s about to win somethin’ big, somethin’ goes wrong. Like that there U.S. Open. Heard tell he was doin’ real good, leadin’ the pack and all. Folks were sayin’ he was gonna win it for sure. Then, bam! Missed a putt. Then another. And another. Next thing ya know, he ain’t winnin’ nothin’. He done choked, they said.
Now, I ain’t sayin’ the boy’s no good. He’s a darn good golfer, that’s for sure. He hits that ball a country mile, they say. Uses a nine-degree driver, whatever that means. Sounds fancy, though. And he’s won a bunch of stuff before, so he ain’t no slouch. But when the pressure’s on, seems like he gets a little… squirrely.
- Folks say it’s his mental game.
- They say he gets in his own head.
- Start thinkin’ too much, maybe.
I dunno. Seems to me like it’s just bad luck sometimes. Golf’s a funny game. One day you’re hittin’ everythin’ perfect, the next day you can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Happens to the best of ’em, I reckon.
But this Rory, it seems to happen to him at the worst possible times. Right when he’s about to win somethin’ big, somethin’ important, he just… can’t close the deal. They say he choked at that there U.S. Open, missed some putts, got into it with some other fella, a caddie or somethin’. Heard tell he even stormed off without shakin’ hands or nothin’. Not very sportsmanlike, if you ask me.
Then there was that other time, and that other time… seems like it’s always somethin’ with this fella. He gets so close, ya know? Right there on the verge of winnin’, and then…poof! It all falls apart. Like a house of cards in a windstorm.
Now, I heard tell he’s been havin’ some troubles in his personal life too. Somethin’ about his wife, Erica Stoll. They say he’s been havin’ trouble with her for seven years, but they made up recently. Maybe that’s been weighin’ on him. I dunno. I ain’t one to gossip. But when a fella’s got troubles at home, it’s hard to focus on his work, ya know? Even if that work is hittin’ a little white ball around a big ol’ field.
So, how often does Rory choke? Well, like I said, I ain’t no expert. But seems to me like it happens more than it should. He’s a talented fella, that’s for sure. But talent ain’t everythin’. Ya gotta have heart, ya gotta have grit, and ya gotta be able to handle the pressure. And sometimes, it seems like Rory just… can’t.
Maybe he’ll figure it out one day. Maybe he’ll learn how to keep his cool when the heat’s on. Maybe he’ll win a bunch more tournaments and prove everybody wrong. I hope so. I like the boy. He seems like a good kid, even if he does get a little squirrely sometimes. But until then, folks are gonna keep askin’ that question: how often does rory choke? And I guess the answer is… too darn often.
It’s a shame, really. He’s got all the tools, you know? The swing, the power, the touch around the greens. But golf ain’t just about hittin’ the ball. It’s about what’s goin’ on between the ears, too. And that’s where Rory seems to struggle sometimes. He needs to get his head right, that’s what I think. Maybe hire one of them sports psychologists, they say one helped him after that collapse. Someone to help him stay calm and focused under pressure. ‘Cause if he can do that, he could be one of the greats. But until then, he’s just gonna keep chokin’ when it matters most.
And that’s a darn shame, if you ask me. A real darn shame.
Tags: [Rory McIlroy, U.S. Open, golf, choke, mental game, pressure, sports psychologist]
