J.P. Fitzgerald’s Tough Love Saved Rory McIlroy’s Round

The Open Championship kicked off on Thursday morning, drawing in golf fans from around the globe to see who would look to take home the Claret Jug. For one of the favorites, however, the round did not start off like he wanted.

Rory McIlroy is still one of the top players in the world but he certainly didn’t play like it to start off the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Coming back over to the U.K. many pegged Rory as a favorite but after the first six holes, he was sitting at five over par, ten shots back of leader Jordan Spieth. Many were already writing him off but something changed after that hole.

After a bogey on the sixth hole, a fan screamed out “Wake up Rory!” from the stands, hoping that would inspire him. The real inspiration, however, came from his caddy, J.P. Fitzgerald. After the hole, Fitzgerald looked at Rory and blatantly stated, “You’re Rory McIlroy, what the f*ck are you doing?” That seemed to strike a chord with McIlroy.

After that exchange, McIlroy looked like a different player. After scrambling for pars to keep his round alive on the seventh and eighth, McIlroy made his first birdie at the eleventh. After that, everything was clicking for the Irishman, as he birdied the final stretch of the fifteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth. That allowed him to finish one-over par and only six shots back of the leaders at five-under.

After missing the cut at three of his last four events, Rory believes his problem to start the round was mental but Fitzgerald put him in a better mindset. “At that point I mumbled and said: ‘Whatever,’ McIlroy said, “But it did, it helped. It definitely helped. It kept me positive. He just sort of reminded me who I was and what I was capable of. And gave me a few positive thoughts.”

Now thanks to his caddy, Rory is still alive and well in the Open Championship and fans will be watching to see if he can carry his momentum into the next three days.

Cover Photo via YouTube