Rory's victory was exceptional but let's not get carried away

CADDIE'S ROLE:As Rory McIlroy has pointed out, he simply hits a wee white ball around 18 holes in as few shots as possible

WE HAVE had a little time to savour the annunciation of the Boy Wonder from Holywood as Prince Charming of the US Open in Maryland nine days ago and contemplate his next Major assault.

Being back at home I had time to peruse the reams of print dedicated to the outstanding achievement of a young Irish sportsman. Having been exposed to thoughts and theories of those not accustomed to writing about sports but more socially and politically orientated, I have come to a worrying conclusion.

I am not concerned about Rory McIlroy, but I do have some issues with some of the commentators who linked the US Open victory so tenuously to broader social messages which really do confuse day-to-day life with the heady world of elite sport.

Rory’s victory was exceptional for a number of reasons; its record-breaking feats, his complete turnaround from the low of his previous Major, his countenance as he strode to victory and the time and space he had to enjoy his position.

There are a myriad of golfers who compete professionally. Some are young with exceptional physical talent and emotional maturity. Some are talented journeymen and others are less talented but savvy grinders.

There is no doubt which category Rory falls into. He is an exceptionally talented young sportsman who has been, like many child prodigies before him, destined for greatness. Some never get to where the “experts” expect them to get to in their chosen sport. Some crash out without ever realising a modicum of their potential, and the rare few achieve greatness.

Rory is in the latter bracket. If you watch the ease with which he winds up to unleash his compact but powerful frame at the ball it looks as graceful as a ballerina in full flow. The difference between him and the average is obvious even to the untrained eye.

Of course this is a great place to start from as a serious world contender, but how do you evaluate how his young mind complements his prodigious physical talent. There were many who were too quick to assess Rory’s ability to handle the pressure of the world’s media as final-round leader of the US Masters. He hadn’t got it, they flippantly surmised.

How wrong they were. The Ulsterman’s ability to turn his fortune around so quickly is what is so exceptional about him. To have that strength of mind after such a devastating defeat in his previous spotlight outing is even more impressive than the pure sound of his club on ball.

So when the commentators suggest Rory is now, after his first Major victory, capable of overtaking Tiger Woods’ special feat of 14 and Jack Nicklaus’s almost unreachable total of 18, I am shocked.

How fickle are we all if we hang our aspirations so quickly on this young man’s shoulders, not only for golfing success but more worryingly for social and national healing for so many current woes that we use him as an example that those in some desperate situations should follow. Wonderful idea, but disingenuous to both the young superstar and the less well off.

As the exceptionally-talented McIlroy has so humbly noted on numerous occasions, he simply hits a wee white ball around 18 holes in as few shots as possible. He is not changing the world by doing this he is just doing what he does best.

If others are inspired by this along the way, great, but he is not some bright shining light to follow like the saving messiah. Thankfully the young man himself has this in perspective, but seemingly others don’t.

It was refreshing to hear his gracious and wise-beyond-his-years words post-victory. We are indeed fortunate to have such a worthy champion in our midst. There are increasing demands for a successful sports star to also be a talisman for some social cause.

Tiger Woods was often criticised for not taking up the African-American mantle in his bulldozing era of dominance. They didn’t realise he was reared one-dimensionally to be a golfing machine. Which in hindsight lead to other social deficiencies.

Rory McIlroy, as Ireland’s Unicef envoy, spent a few days in Haiti the week before his US Open success. It was a sobering time for him and a wonderful opportunity to observe the relativity of winning or losing at his level of professional golf having witnessed the devastation of post-earthquake Haiti.

We have a rare talent grown in our tiny dot on earth. He was born with this wonderful gift. He, through careful and loving guidance, has been put in a position to harness and grow his talent and bring it to fruition with the emotional maturity needed to make the physical part effective.

In desperate economic times, coupled with the moral corruption of some of our elected leaders in our nation, we can often find ourselves clutching at straws to see some kind of path in the future. Rory McIlroy is not our way ahead, we all need to keep sport in perspective. But if he looks after his very promising future and doesn’t get side-tracked along the way his bright shining way will benefit us all as we use our own modest talents and savvy to find our futures.