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Is McIlroy beginning to show his true self?
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Updated: Fri 7/29/2011 7:47 am
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July 29, 2011 - Rory McIlroy had a terse response over Twitter with Jay Townsend, a former European Tour Player who now works for BBC Radio and is a regular contributor on The Golf Channel.
Townsend got the ball rolling when he offered a rather frank assessment of the U.S. Open champion's game after he finished with a double-bogey six on the 18th hole at the Irish Open on Thursday.
"McIlroy's course management was shocking," Townsend tweeted. "Some of the worse course management I have seen beyond under-10 boys' golf competition."
The 22-year old McIlroy didn't take too kindly to those words, offering his own tweet.
"Shut up....you're a golf commentator and a failed golfer, your opinion means nothing!"
McIlroy was a guest on The Golf Channel show, Feherty, earlier this week and was asked by host David Feherty if he wanted a life like Tiger Woods. To paraphrase McIlroy's response, he admitted a career like Tiger's wouldn't be so bad. But what the young McIlroy must understand, a career even close to what Tiger Woods' has enjoyed brings with it criticism and sustained attention. Sure, the criticism may not always be fair, or even on target, but if you feel compelled to answer every critic you're entering a world where winning isn't really an option.
Tiger has been criticized for not engaging the media and responding to every question asked at every step along his not so yellow brick road. But Tiger figured out long ago, people are going to leverage his words in ways that he can never control so why offer them up?
Rory responded wonderfully to the attention gained by virtue of his collapse on Sunday at The Masters. He received the acclaim of the golfing world, including the difficult to impress golf media. He bounced back in June at Congressional to dominate the field at the United States Open, once again impressing the players he beat and the media in awe of his persistence. Now, he finds himself in a position once again to respond. How the 22 year old phenom says what he says, if anything, will begin to define the persona that is "real" Rory McIlroy.
Follow The Back Nine on Twitter @BackNineSTL
Listen to The Back Nine on 101.1 ESPN Radio, Saturday's 8am - 10am or listen on line at www.101sports.com.
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