Rory: "I let it get to me a few times."

As Brian Keogh noted the other day, Rory McIlroy looked exhausted at the World Challenge last week and only seemed to perk up when talking to scribes about going to a Beyoncé concert or when chatting on the course with girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki, who walked with him during several competitive rounds (in places I've never seen a WAG walk!).

Doug Ferguson reminds us how audaciously McIlroy's season started and contrasts that with how quietly 2013 ended. He writes about what 2014 portends for the World No. 6, but not before discussing what increased scrutiny did to McIlroy's game.

"It's been the first year I've had to put up with scrutiny and criticism," McIlroy said. "You just have to believe in what you're doing and not let it get to you too much. I let it get to me a few times."

The toothache was one example of that. McIlroy conceded a week later at Doral that all the hype translated into more pressure he put on himself to perform, and he snapped. An honest answer. He said he would never do it again. So far, so good.

More than the golf was the inspection outside the ropes.

"All the other stuff," he said. "I don't care what people say about my golf. It's when people start digging into my personal life, that's where it starts to annoy you. Whether it's Caroline, the management, all that should that should be no consequence to how I play my golf."