Punters Note: Rory Plans To Embrace Open Conditions, Loves Lytham

James Corrigan files a lengthy Telegraph piece on Rory McIlory heading into the Open Championship, with extensive discussion of sweet Caroline and how he pretty much threw in the towel at Wentworth knowing he could be in Paris.

There are also some interesting comments about his change of attitude toward the Irish Open and his comments about wind after last year's third round.

With the special place in his heart, there is a special shot he has always reserved for Lytham, as well. It is a little fade he will use to bring off the bunkers which is ideal for the front nine. “And I don’t mind if it’s windy,” said McIlroy. “It’s only what I said after the third round last year that made people think I don’t like playing in the wind.”

To rewind, McIlroy told a stunned assembled press after his tournament-wrecking 74 that he would just have to wait for a calm Open to collect his Claret Jug. Cue recrimination.

“Those comments were born out of frustration,” he said. “I’d battled really well in the tough conditions to be only two over after 13 but then as soon as the rain had suddenly stopped and wind suddenly died, I hit a ball out of bounds. I thought, ‘Great, all that hard work for nothing’, and I was still annoyed when I came off.

“Of course I can play in the wind. I grew up doing so and have played well in the Dunhill Links and made the best score on a blustery weekend at St Andrews in 2010 after my second-round 80. But I suppose nobody will believe me until I prove that I can.”

Yep, that about sums up this punters' view.

More depressingly, the Telegraph piece ends with this footnote. This has to be a first for a major newspaper:

Rory McIlroy stars in EA Sports Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013, out now on Kinect for XBox and Playstation 3. Buy your copy now at www.amazon.com/uk/tiger-woods