R.I.P. Wozilroy

The world has now had a good 48 hours to absorb the tragic news, and the reflections are poring in.  Certainly no one will mourn the loss of the Wozilroy nom de love, it's hardly up there with the classics of the genre such as Brangelina.  So let's dive in with all the sensitivity you've come to expect from Unplayable Lies, a Pre-Nup Post-Mortem, if you will.

For reflections from writers that have watched the lad grow up, we'll go to Brian Keough of the Irish Golf Desk and Karl MacGinty of the Belfast Telegraph (h/t Shackelford).  Keough covers the by now familiar ground:

Asked how tough it would be to concentrate on golf, he said: “I’m not going to lie. It’s going to

be very difficult. But at least when I get inside the ropes, I can just try and concentrate on the shot at hand. But yeah, it's obviously going to be difficult.” 

It would have been easy to withdraw from the tournament but McIlroy, who has struggled to perform at the venue since the course underwent a profound redesign, cited loyalty to the tour while at the same time admitting that concentrating on golf is going to be extremely difficult. 

“No, I didn’t think there was any reason to do that,” McIlroy said. “There’s no good time to sort of end a relationship, I guess. I made a commitment to be here. It's the European Tour's flagship event. The European Tour have been very good to me over the last number of years, and I thought it was my duty to come back and play in this event. And once I gave my word that I would, I wasn't going to go back on it.”

Fair enough, but at least his time inside the ropes will provide something to distract from his angst.  But MacGinty reminds us of some of the, ahem, less admirable recent history:

Then he broke up with his Dublin management company Horizon last April, a month after

signing an extension to his contract. 

Ironically, exactly 12 months ago McIlroy's pre-tournament press conference at the BMW PGA Championship was dominated by that break-up, which continues to cast a pall as both sides remain locked on course for collision in Dublin's Commercial Court. 

Even echoes of his previous six-year relationship with childhood sweetheart Holly Sweeney would resonate in the media long after they parted in July 2011 and McIlroy and Danish tennis star Wozniacki became the biggest celebrity couple in sport.

I suppose we're all trying to figure out who Rory is, the kid who handled his Masters meltdown with touching humility or the churlish cad who, after getting slapped with a silly penalty in Abu Dhabi, informs us that he's got better things to do than read the rulebook.  Obviously nobody is arguing that he should have gone through with a wedding if he felt misgivings, it's just that it's far preferable to sense said misgivings before a,) proposing, and b.) sending out the invitations.

James Corrigan tells us that Rory has adopted a retro strategy to deal with the maelstrom of his life:

McIlroy revealed that he has taken what other youngsters may consider radical steps to stay in a bubble. “I haven’t put my phone on for two days and have given away my laptop,” he said. “It’s sort of like living in the Sixties and Seventies.

Now what would that lad know about the sixties or seventies?  Let's see if he knows what to do with a rotary dial telephone...

Ewan Murray, writing in the Guardian, has this troubling supposition:

Albeit it contradicts the fact McIlroy is single-minded, there has always been a theory that he felt almost obliged to settle down due to the advice of elder statesman. The legendary Gary Player, for example, previously insisted that McIlroy has “got to find himself a wife that’ll help him, actually almost dedicate her life to him being a success”. Such old-fashioned logic is not in touch with modern reality for a global star such as McIlroy who has always displayed a tendency to live life to the full.

We can all agree that there are few worse reasons for marrying than because Gary Player thinks you should.  But this obviously raises an interesting issue for the times, i.e., can two world-class athletes (though that's being somewhat generous to Caroline these days) survive in one marriage, or are the demands such that the spouse needs to be more along the lines of what Player envisioned.   

In these matters there's only one source that I fully trust, that being the New York Post's Page 6:

Golf pro Rory McIlroy called things off with Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki partly because his personal life was affecting his game, sources tell Page Six. 

One source said, “Rory’s game hasn’t been as consistently good in the time he’s been with Caroline. He was a young guy in love and was flying around the world to see her play in tournaments or meet up with her. He was missing practice rounds. It was a distraction.”

The source added, “When you have two players focused on being No. 1, it’s a huge commitment to see each other, physically and emotionally. As tough as the decision to end the relationship might have been, it is wise to do it now rather than after they were married.”

On a more amusing note, Paddy Power is there with the odds on Tiger's next girlfriend.  Holly Sweeny is the favorite to recreate her original role, at pricey 3-1 odds.  Pippa Middleton at 100-1 could be good value, but Serena Williams also at 100-1 seems, shall we say, improbable, and I'm guessing Elin Nordegren has had her fill of professional golfers.  Though at 275-1, what's the harm?

And how about this little gem from his first round at the BMW Championship: