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Rory McIlroy
Player Profiles
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Paul Krishnamurty /
04 July 2011 /
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Player Profiles
Can Rory make it major win no.2?
Odds: [7.0]
Last five Opens (most recent first): 3/47/-/42/-
Britain's new sporting hero will arrive at Royal St Georges fresh, having sensibly opted for a break after that remarkable eight-shot victory at the US Open. The scale of his achievement and expectations should now have sunk in, so hopefully he will be prepared to be the centre of attention at Sandwich, even more so given Tiger Woods' lilkely absence. Any comparisons with the great man may be premature, but McIlroy already seems to capture the imagination of punters in ways only Tiger ever did. It could be a very long time before we see double-figure odds on McIlroy to win the Open again.
We've known Rory was a links specialist since performing so well in this major as an amateur, and nearly winning the Dunhill Links on one of his earliest professional starts. His opening round 63 at St Andrews last year will live long in the memory. However, the 80 that followed revealed a lack of versatility in extreme winds, and his wider record in such conditions remains a cause for concern.
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