How standing up to LIV Golf gave Rory McIlroy his fire back

The low points before this high of Rory McIlroy reclaiming the world No 1 crown have already been well-charted; the lockdown blues, the misguided attempt to emulate the length of Bryson DeChambeau, the resulting two-way miss, the Ryder Cup tears, the exile outside the top 10 in the rankings…

Yet what is only now being factored in was the run on burgers and club sandwiches in a sprawling resort hotel in the hills of San Antonio on a Friday night in March.

“I'd missed the cut at the Texas Open and, for some reason, I couldn’t get out of town that night,” McIlroy explained. “The hotel was busy and when I rang down for room service they said it would be a two-and-a-half-hour wait. So I’d basically missed the cut, gone to sleep on an empty stomach and I was like, ‘let's just wake up tomorrow and start again’.

“At that stage if you’d have told me I would be world No 1 by October, I would have asked you what you were smoking. It’s just been a wild six months."

It might seem unbelievable to the Northern Irishman himself, but to the professional game at large it makes perfect and well-timed sense. The protagonists in the LIV Golf Series may not agree but the sport seems in a better, more orderly place when McIlroy is No 1 and in a year when uncertainty has raged across the fairway, any feeling of normal service being resumed is, of course, widely welcomed.

McIlroy has been labelled as “golf’s conscience” in these months of rancour and recrimination and now he possesses the platform to go with the reputation. After more than two years, McIlroy is once again at the head of the table, enjoying his ninth stint as No 1 and if anyone doubted what that means they did not see his red eyes and his voice crackle in his victory speech at the CJ Cup on Sunday night.

It was his third victory in his 15 starts since Texas, a run also featuring a second at the Masters, a third at the Open, top 10s in the other two majors and five other top-fives. This remarkable consistency has seen him hunt down Scottie Scheffler, the Augusta champion who appeared destined to see out 2022 as the world’s best.

Granted, McIlroy has gone on these streaks before and despite his excellence in the ‘Big Four’ this campaign, his detractors will point to the fact that his majorless run extends into a ninth year since the last of his quartet at the 2014 US PGA. But it surely cannot be denied that he has not looked closer and for that reason, that week in Alamo country should indeed be remembered.

As the only UK journalist in attendance, I can testify to McIlroy’s weariness at the JW Marriott course, telling me that, with seven days left before his eighth attempt to complete the career grand slam at the Masters, “I am here because I am trying not to overthink things”. Except something was plainly whirring inside his brain, as he mumbled about changing his most important piece of equipment.

“It might have seemed risky at a major,” McIlroy now admits. “But I decided to go for it after Texas and played a new golf ball at Augusta. And that was really the turning point to turn this year around.”

In truth, McIlroy never seemed likely to overhaul Scheffler between those cathedral pines, but his Sunday 64 - the lowest ever final round in Masters history - did remind him that he was allowed to savour the experience. Off the course, his life was idyllic with the birth of daughter Poppy, but on it, too often it resembled a chore.

This fresh attitude has permitted this 33-year-old in his 15th campaign as a professional to shrug off the huge disappointment of coming so near to a second Claret Jug at the 150th Open at St Andrews three months ago.

“The last two years, a lot has gone on in my life and the vast majority of it for the better and it's great,” he said. “But the only thing I would say that’s been a downer at times has been my golf. Now, at last, I feel like I'm enjoying the game as much as ever. I absolutely love golf and when I go out there and play with that joy… well, these last months have definitely shown how much better I am for it. I’m proud of all the work I’ve put in to get back to this position and I’m excited for 2023.”

Before then, McIlroy will head to the DP World Tour’s finale in Dubai in three weeks’ time, looking almost certain to win his first order of merit title in seven years. With his putting soaring to new heights and his ball-striking approaching past peaks, his enthusiasm on the summit cannot be doubted. He never did suffer from a lack of ambition or any hunger problems - dodgy room service, withstanding - but McIlroy has rediscovered the high life as No 1 and is revelling in the quest to climb to further greatness.

“It’s just the journey of trying to get the best out of myself - that's the satisfying thing,” McIlroy said. “I never feel like I've figured this game out, but every day I wake up trying to get closer.”