The night Rory McIlroy watched boxing in the media center
4 Min Read
With a youthful swagger to match his fearless game, Rory McIlroy was 19 when we saw him for the first time on American soil in a PGA TOUR setting.
But bless his giving heart, McIlroy dropped the curtain and brought the entire show to a place called Dove Mountain in Marana, Arizona, that February in 2009. A stunning wedge shot from a seemingly difficult lie in a fairway bunker at No. 17 highlighted a second-round stunner over Hunter Mahan.
Then in the quarterfinals, McIlroy gave eventual champion Geoff Ogilvy all he could handle before falling, 2 and 1. “The real deal,” Ogilvy said that day, when asked about the mop-haired kid from Northern Ireland, though it was a quiet observation made by Ogilvy’s caddie that put the picture in a clearer focus.
“If you want to be the second-best player in the world,” said Alastair Matheson, who was in step with the golf world in 2009, acknowledging that Tiger Woods was the unquestioned No. 1, “you’ve got to be better than Rory.”
Yes, that World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play event 11 years ago is where we were introduced to the ease with which Rory McIlroy can play this game.
Six years later at the same tournament, we witnessed Rory McIlroy doing something with even greater ease – being human.
Now McIlroy walking into a media center happens dozens of times a year. No big deal. But sauntering in on a Saturday night to pull up a chair and watch a major sporting event alongside a bunch of “scribes?” Well, the memory still ignites a sense of warmth, because humility is a beautiful thing to witness.
The memory of McIlroy visiting our media center is rekindled because of TPC Harding Park. That’s where the golf world was originally scheduled to be this week, enjoying the PGA Championship, and it’s where we were in 2015 when McIlroy emphatically showed why he was No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking as he rolled to victory.
OK, so he didn’t quite “roll” in his quarterfinal win over Paul Casey, but it’s because he did not that he graced us with his presence to watch the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight. All week at TPC Harding Park, McIlroy had confirmed rumors that he had tickets to the fight and fully intended to fly from San Francisco to Las Vegas that Saturday night, then return early Sunday.
Hey, that’s what immensely talented and wealthy 24-year-olds do when blessed with connections and celebrity status. But here’s something immensely talented and wealthy 24-year-olds don’t do when blessed with connections and celebrity status – they don’t sit on folding chairs in cold media centers eating pizza surrounded by golf writers.
Unless they’re Rory McIlroy, that is.
Because his Saturday afternoon match against Casey had stretched into the early-evening hours without a decision, McIlroy had to swallow the bitter reality that he didn’t have enough time to fly to Vegas and get to the fight. (It was good news for Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s best friend and now his caddie, and to Lee Westwood, as they got the tickets and attended the fight.)
But the dilemma got especially dicey when he understood he might not have enough time to drive from TPC Harding Park to his hotel for the start of the fight, so McIlroy listened to options.
The offer to watch the fight in the media center appealed to him, though it came with a caveat – there was apparently an issue about getting the pay-per-view feed. “Take it out of my prize money,” McIlroy said.
It never did come to that, but here’s what did come out of McIlroy’s pocket – he picked up the tab for the pizzas that were ordered. He was accompanied by his girlfriend Erica Stoll (they are now married) and manager Sean O’Flaherty, and what is vivid about the memory is how McIlroy was intrigued to watch reporters on deadline and genuinely respectful of the surrounding in which he sat.
He joked that he wasn’t there to edit or do interviews, but he’d clarify any questions about his match against Casey. Mostly, though, it was remarkable how McIlroy blended into the setting so seamlessly.
“Great memories indeed!” wrote O’Flaherty via text recently when reminded of the evening. “That was a special week with the perfect outcome. I remember watching the fight in the media, and we all enjoyed some Papa John's Pizza with a few beers.”
True, the fight hardly lived up to its massive hype, as Mayweather won a unanimous decision in a bout that was short on action and devoid of suspense. In other words, it could not compare to McIlroy, who did live up to his billing by beating Casey on Sunday morning on the 22nd hole, then getting past Jim Furyk in the semifinals and Gary Woodland, 4 and 2, in the championship.
The game’s best player produced the great golf that comes easy to him. He also delivered on what comes even easier, the humanness.
Jim McCabe has covered golf since 1995, writing for The Boston Globe, Golfweek Magazine, and PGATOUR.COM. Follow Jim McCabe on Twitter.