It seems like all the predictions people made for Tiger Woods are being held true for Rory McIlroy.
Long before Woods got involved with now-ex-wife Elin Nordegren, Tiger’s father, Earl Woods, said that “a wife can sometimes be a deterrent to a good game of golf.” Though it’s true that his relationship with Nordegren did eventually derail his career, Woods’ troubles probably weren’t what Earl had in mind.
Likewise, a decade ago, when Woods first switched all his equipment to Nike (he had switched to a Nike ball more than a year earlier), rival Phil Mickelson called the Swoosh’s clubs “inferior.” Of course, looking at their respective success since, Woods’ clubs haven’t seemed to have caused him any problems.
Now, ahead of the British Open, analyst Johnny Miller is blaming McIlroy’s season-long slump on both his significant other — professional tennis player Caroline Wozniacki — and his equipment.
“I think he’s in love for the first time,” Miller told the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s distracting.
“Then I would say it’s one thing to change your driver or wedge, but you’re asking for huge trouble when you change all your clubs and your golf ball at the same time. I did it with Wilson, and I went into an immediate slump for four or five months. His 9-iron and wedge have been really horrendous, and he just lost the magic with his putting. He’s hit the grand slam of things you have to watch out for when you’re at the top. He’s a bit of a mess.”
For the record, Woods’ new beau, Lindsey Vonn, was actually out on the course at Muirfield with her man Sunday. Wozniacki, fresh off a second-round loss at Wimbledon, did not appear to be on the grounds.
