I couldn’t agree more with Ron Green regarding Rory McIlroy (“For an ‘underachiever,’ McIlroy sure has done a lot,” June 26 GGP). The ride is far from over.
McIlroy is the best thing to happen to golf probably since Tiger Woods. Just watching him on the range is a thing of beauty. That has been said many times by many people in golf, and it’s true.
McIlroy is an artist with a great imagination combined with unbelievable power. Sometimes under pressure, that combination will tempt him to do things that most people would never consider doing, especially under tournament conditions. Add to that Ron Green’s point about “expectations.” That is the kryptonite to a superstar such as McIlroy.
But, he has handled all the noise with integrity. For most people, that may be an ‘Oh, that’s nice, but what has he done lately?’ perspective, but that misses the point. He is a champion in every sense of the word.
The game is so much better because of McIlroy and Rickie Fowler. These young men are what golf is all about. Yes, they make great money doing what they love to do, but it comes with a price of expectation. Yet they handle it as only champions with integrity can do: without whining or making excuses. They just go to work. They don’t brag about how much money they make, like others who consider themselves to be the smartest people in the room. No, they just stay true to who they are.
No one knows what these guys go through away from the spotlight except for their closest confidants. But they do keep coming back, chasing their dreams and all that goes with it.
The word underachiever doesn’t belong in the same sentence with Rory McIlroy, which I think is Ron Green’s point exactly.
I have no idea whether McIlroy will win another major, but as he said after finishing second in the recent U.S. Open, “I would go through 100 Sundays like this to get my hands on another major championship.”
The critics who stand on the sidelines and have a great view from the cheap seats will never understand what it takes to play at his level. They should just sit back and enjoy the greatness before them. For that is exactly what we are experiencing with a golfer and a man such as Rory McIlroy.
Ralph Dodge
Lakeway, Texas
Sorry, but Rory McIlroy brings a lot of this on himself (“For an ‘underachiever,’ McIlroy sure has done a lot,” June 26 GGP).
I lost a lot of respect for him about mouthing off about LIV Golf. As LIV is a competitive tour, McIlroy and the PGA Tour should have just said that more golf is good for the game. Let the best man win.
McIlroy is really good, but the tour is full of really good players, so let’s wait and see if he belongs in the company of Tiger, Jack and Arnold.
Ron Greene
Summerville, South Carolina
It’s not the “expectations” as much as it is his likability (“For an ‘underachiever,’ McIlroy sure has done a lot,” June 26 GGP). We all want Rory McIlroy to win because he’s a good guy, and we hope and think that if we were that good, we’d be as humble, as generous, as patient and as honorable.
That he has retained his humanity makes him ours. Plus, the fact that he drives the snot out of the ball and can’t sink a putt.
John Miller
Aurora, New York
I’m really getting tired of Rory McIlroy and his elitism (“For an ‘underachiever,’ McIlroy sure has done a lot,” June 26 GGP). First, he’s instrumental in creating a two-tiered PGA Tour that takes care of the top 70-ranked players and sends the rest of the players to the Sanderson Farms, John Deere and other lower-purse events.
Now, he’s punking the tour venues that he has to play that don’t meet his standards. If he didn’t run away to hide after his Masters failure, and if he played Hilton Head, he could have passed on what he called the “obsolete” TPC River Highlands course.
If our longtime tour-supporting venues don’t appeal to him, he could always return to his roots: the DP World Tour.
Charlie Jurgonis
Fairfax, Virginia
I thoroughly enjoyed Steve Eubanks’ column on the Women’s PGA and Baltusrol Golf Club (“PGA, Baltusrol lift women’s game,” June 26 GGP).
A couple of facts that NBC kept reporting throughout the weekend could use a “finer point” on the network’s pencil.
All weekend, NBC highlighted the fact that Baltusrol hosted four men’s U.S. Opens on its Lower Course (true) while avoiding the fact that Balty has hosted seven men’s U.S. Opens since the club’s opening in 1895 (including the Upper Course and the Old Course layout pre-Tillinghast).
In addition, Baltusrol has hosted two men’s PGAs, four men’s U.S. Amateurs and a U.S. Junior Amateur.
Furthermore, while highlighting the fact that this was the first Women’s PGA hosted by Baltusrol, NBC never mentioned the two U.S. Women’s Opens and the two U.S. Women’s Amateurs that the club has hosted over the years, reflecting the longstanding and important role that women’s golf has played at Baltusrol Golf Club.
Robert J. Munch
Westfield, New Jersey
Great column by Steve Eubanks about the KPMG Women’s PGA at Baltusrol (“PGA, Baltusrol lift women’s game,” June 26 GGP). It was fun to watch another women’s major on another historic course.
By the way, the PGA of America’s Kerry Haigh includes in his career résumé a stint as an official with the LPGA in the late 1980s, when he and I were colleagues for a couple of years, before he went to Kemper Sports and then the PGA.
Mike Waldron
Dawsonville, Georgia
(Waldron retired from the LPGA in 2021 as the manager of rules and competition.)
There were several gems in Steve Eubanks’ piece on Kerry Haigh, specifically, the “blue tablecloth” and the final anecdote about Justin Thomas (“PGA, Baltusrol lift women’s game,” June 26 GGP). Spot-on.
Mark Burris
Sanibel, Florida
I was delighted to read Tom Stine’s piece on Ron Balicki (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP). It brought back some great memories of my time with Ron.
My fondest memories of Ron are from The Maxwell, a collegiate event in Ardmore, Oklahoma. The event was played at Dornick Hills, which was one of Perry Maxwell’s first course designs. The Maxwell was co-hosted by Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, and it was a spectacular event. The AJGA was asked to set up the course, officiate and execute pace of play. I think the tournament simply created an opportunity for the town of Ardmore to party, and the good people of Ardmore really knew how to party – and Ron was there for every celebration.
Whether it was the pre-tourney luncheon, the fishing trip to Lake Texoma, the wonderful dinners at Fireside restaurant, or the post-tourney dinner, Ron was in the middle of everything.
Please extend my thanks to Tom for bringing back some great memories.
Stephen Hamblin
Braselton, Georgia
(Hamblin is the executive director of the American Junior Golf Association.)
Great article on a great man, friend and writer. Ron Balicki put collegiate and amateur golf on the map (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP).
I met him in the late 1970s while at Sandestin resort in Florida. A few years later in Jacksonville, I met Charley Stine and his son, Tom, after they had started Florida Golfweek, known today as Golfweek.
The rest of the ride has been no less than amazing.
Puggy Blackmon
Blythewood, South Carolina
(Blackmon is the former men’s golf coach at Georgia Tech and South Carolina who works as the director of golf at Prisma Apex Athletic Performance.)
Really great article on Ron Balicki (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP).
Count me as a guy who had a Golfweek subscription so I could see my name in my top finishes. And almost every time my name showed up, someone would call and congratulate me for a nice finish or a win, so someone else was obviously watching, too.
It’s a great memory, and I’m glad to know that Ron was the guy who made it happen.
Casey Alexander
Harrisburg, North Carolina
(Alexander is the senior vice president and research analyst at Compass Point Research and Trading, which follows the golf industry.)
Ron Balicki was truly special and cared for the people beyond the game (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP).
As one of those college guys who always felt blessed to cross paths with Ron when he came around Duke, a regional, NCAAs or elsewhere, I say thanks for keeping his memory alive.
Mike Sobb
Durham, North Carolina
(Sobb is the associate athletic director for resource acquisition at Duke University.)
What a beautiful tribute to a special person (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP).
Tom Stine captured it perfectly.
Tim Huet
Bend, Oregon
(Huet retired after 27 years with TaylorMade Golf, where he launched the equipment manufacturer’s college and AJGA initiatives.)
Ron Balicki also was college golf’s best friend (“A tribute to Northeast Am’s greatest friend,” June 26 GGP).
I knew him, respected him, joked with him, and loved him. He is at peace as his short life exuded peace, harmony, love.
John Reis
Scottsdale, Arizona
(Reis, a former NCAA Division I golf rules official, retired as executive director of the Greater Cincinnati Golf Association.)
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