The Open / Ralph Ellis / 06 July 2011 /

The US Open champion will be under a ton of pressure at Royal St George's but Ralph Ellis believes Holywood's biggest star can carry the weight on his young shoulders. Will you back him to win successive Majors?

If anybody doubted just how much Rory McIlory had become the new darling of the sporting world, the evidence was there at Wimbledon. One invitation to the Royal Box is to be treasured. Getting asked back for the men's final means you have become seriously 'A' list.

There probably isn't a star from Hollywood at the moment with a bigger profile than the young man from Holywood. And nobody will be under more pressure next week at The Open than the newly-crowned US Open champion.

That attention has been ramped up even further by the news that Tiger Woods won't make it. Sensibly, the fallen former number one, who hasn't swung a club in anger for two months, has announced he'll be staying away from Royal St George's. Which all leaves just one show in town as McIlroy attempts to become only the second European since the Second World War to win back to back Majors.

There's debate about how he'll handle that pressure; debate about whether he's been right to stay away from European tour events in the meantime; probably by next week debate about whether he'd be wiser to have cereal or toast for breakfast.

Padraig Harrington - the answer to the quiz question of who did win the back to back Majors, just in case you were puzzling - thinks Rory can handle it. "He's at saturation point for pressure now. One more thing will make no difference," he says. Colin Montgomerie, on the other hand, is fearful. "There are going to be so many people wanting to congratulate him that on the first tee he will be mentally tired," he said. (But then again if you want advice on the mental aspects of winning a Major, I'm not entirely sure Monty's your man).

The orthodox way to get ready for the unique challenge of The Open is to play another links course the week before. That's why world number one and two Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are at Castle Stuart this week. But it's not the only way. Ian Poulter was playing a practice round at Royal St George's yesterday and will be back there, working in glorious isolation, today. Jason Day, who let's not forget was runner up at both Augusta and Congressional, has stuck by a promise to stay in the States and play in the John Deere Classic in Illinois.

To me, McIlroy's decision to stick with the routine that worked so well for him before he went to Congressional makes sense, and I can't see any reason not to back him at a price as long as his current odds of [7.2]. He was brought up on links golf. He's got the game, and he's proved now he's got the mindset too. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Five things you might not know about Jason Day

1. Born November 1987 in Beaudesert, Queensland, his first golf club was a cut down three wood his father Alvin, a meat worker, found in a rubbish dump. He swung it with such natural talent that dad enrolled him in the local golf club at the age of six.
2. Sadly Alvin died through stomach cancer when Jason was 12. His response was to go off the rails, drinking and getting in fights until his Filipino mother Dening took a job as a shipping clerk to raise the money to send him to a boarding school.
3. Inspired by a book about Tiger Woods, Jason began working seriously at his golf swing together with the school's coach Col Swatton. Swatton is still Jason's coach now
4. He turned pro at 19, after asking advice from Adam Scott when they were playing a practice round. Scott said he'd played with Justin Rose, who had in turn told him that despite 22 missed cuts in a row after he'd turned pro as a teenager he wouldn't have changed anything about his career.
5. He travels the circuit in the States in a motor home together with wife Ellie and two dachshunds Charlie and Lola

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: