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Can Australia love Rory McIlroy again?

My youngest daughter was only 3 years old when Rory McIlroy won the 2013 Australian Open in thrilling fashion at Royal Sydney. Back then she would often sit on my lap and watch golf on TV with me and “McIlrory McIlrory”, as she called him, was her favourite player. The next year, when I had the chance to meet the Northern Irishman at Hoylake during the Open Championship – which he won – she was excited on my behalf.

Jillian is 15 now, doesn’t care much for golf or for McIlroy (I couldn’t persuade her to watch the closing stages of this year’s Masters with me) but still knows that he is a big deal in the game. When I told her he was coming to play in the Australian Open for the first time in 11 years, her eyebrows raised a notch, but her reaction was mostly, as kids today say, “meh”.

OK, so teenage girls who don’t play golf perhaps aren’t the best barometer for gauging interest in superstar players coming to our shores. She also isn’t across the role McIlroy has played in the ongoing stoush between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf’s backers, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. I draw her into this conversation more as an illustration of someone who once knew plenty about McIlroy’s global golf exploits but for whom he now represents ‘just another pro golfer’.

His appearance at Royal Melbourne this December will be compelling for multiple reasons, perhaps the least of which will be his on-course exploits. The common refrain in Australian golf circles is that McIlroy has some ground to make up here – and with his mouth rather than his clubs.

It has become a strained relationship by association. In siding with the PGA Tour, he inadvertently put himself in an anti-Australia camp in the eyes of many golf fans, simply because the all-consuming PGA Tour has thwarted the growth of our professional circuit by favouring its own flourishment. I very much doubt McIlroy intentionally slighted us, especially as someone who has repeatedly sung the praises of our country [see panel], as instead his relationship with Australia was collateral damage in a larger war.

He perhaps garnered some sympathy from you for essentially being thrust into the spotlight as the posterboy for the PGA Tour in the ongoing standoff. It’s unlikely he wanted the role; he just happened to be the one left without a seat when the music stopped playing. However, he certainly picked up that particular ball and ran with it.

Regardless of your feelings about the PGA Tour–Saudi PIF malaise, our broader question is: can we – and do we – love Rory McIlroy again?

When in doubt in these discussions, we turn to you – our readers. We recently asked via our social-media channels whether your opinion of McIlroy changed in the wake of him signing on to play in the next two Australian Opens. For several years now, the mere mention of McIlroy on our channels has drawn your collective ire because of his pro-PGA Tour stance. Which left us wondering whether showing up here – something so few of his PGA Tour brethren have done in recent years – was enough to sway you. You didn’t disappoint.

“This is just to help salvage the tattered reputation of the PGA Tour here. Just a crumb from the master’s table,” speculated Brian Anketell.

“Will he honour his commitment? Will he speak to the press? Will he apologise for his comments about Greg [Norman]? Will he get past page one of his excuse book?” wondered Bruce Henley.

“He’s not here doing us a favour,” insisted Mick Ford.

“I would have much preferred to see Bryson,” lamented Martin Mahoney.

Ouch. Yet if the hot early Australian Open ticket sales are any measure, collectively you do feel a warmth towards McIlroy. Or at least intrigue.

“He’s been the most beloved golfer in the world for more than 15 years, and his commitment will only help to cement that status,” wrote Andy Meldrum.

“Can’t wait,” Daniel Mance added succinctly.

McIlroy graces our cover solo this month for the first time since the May 2023 issue. He is the most recent member of the career Grand Slam club [see page 76] and this month will contest the Open Championship in his home nation [see page 72], keen to atone for his ignominious missed cut at Royal Portrush six years ago. Then there’s his rekindled connection with our national championship.

We feel the time is right. Whether you agree probably says a lot about whether you felt affronted by McIlroy’s vocal stance in a percolating issue within men’s professional golf, or your belief in forgiving and forgetting.  

Top 5 Rory McIlroy-and-Australia moments

5. Contesting the Dunes Medal as an amateur in 2005 (Jason Day won).

4. Contesting the Australian Masters as a rookie pro in 2007 (Aaron Baddeley won).

3. Returning to defend his Australian Open crown in 2014 (and finishing 15th as Jordan Spieth won).

2. Publicly praising the Melbourne Sandbelt in 2020, when he was considering travelling here for that year’s Australian Open at Kingston Heath (which wound up being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

1. Capturing the 2013 Australian Open (even if it was at Adam Scott’s expense).