"I'll have many more chances, I know that"
--Rory McIlroy, Sunday evening
21 years old. Top 3 at the final 2 majors of 2010 and the 54 hole header at the 2011 Masters. Despite not winning the Green Jacket after a back 9 collapse on Sunday, the future should be bright for Rory McIlroy. He showed a poise beyond his years for 63 holes at one of the biggest tournaments in golf. He is one of the longest drivers on tour. In the words of his agent "he's an old 21." Unfortunately that could have been talking about Rory's body, and not just his poise. Despite being blessed with immense talent, McIlroy has also been cursed with a bad back.
He first revealed his back issues to the public in February 2010. He managed a Top 10 finish in Dubai that week but told the press afterwards that he had been taking anti-inflammatory drugs for it and had it "strapped up pretty good." He has said that he gets it scanned fairly regularly and that resting it helps it out, but most back problems never seem to truly heal, they only get worse with time.
A lot has been said about McIlroy's swing and how much torque it puts on to his lower back. He has never changed his swing and if he continues on with the same swing it could severely limit his window of opportunity on the PGA Tour. Even if he is able to continue playing with periods of rest it leads one to wonder how effective he can ultimately be and if taking chunks of time off will prevent him from ever being able to get into a good rhythm.
A good example of a potentially stellar career being derailed by back problems is Fred Couples. At 51 he was the low senior at the Masters this year, but played through a painful back condition. He took time off in December without much success and is now talking about taking more time off to let his back rest. Couples has 87 career starts in Majors with 1 win, the 1992 Masters. That win came 2 years before his back problems began.
The future could still be bright for Rory McIlroy. He is still young enough that he could go through a swing change to alleve pressure on his back. His youth also should allow him to fight through it for longer than someone older than him. History tells us though that the chances of McIlroy having a long and successful career are slim. Hopefully that is not the case because golf could use another star, as Woods and Mickelson continue to move away from their primes. He sees this past weekend as a learning experience
on the road to future success, but it may prove to be a bigger missed opportunity than we now realize. Unfortunately we may look back someday and realize this was the high point of his career.
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