Rory McIlroy must be kicking himself for letting go a golden chance to become the No 1 player in the world. At the WGC-Accenture Match Play last week, he did all the hard work he needed to win the tournament to overtake Luke Donald but when it mattered most during the final against Hunter Mahan, McIlroy failed to lift his game.
The world No 2 later reasoned that he was so focused in trying to beat Lee Westwood in the semi-finals that he felt he was playing on empty tank as far as motivation is concerned when battling with Mahan.
Being a player, I can understand his feeling. We go through this a lot. It is almost similar to shooting a round of 62 on one day, and then struggling to break par the very next round. It's like you play a fabulous round and beat somebody like Tiger Woods, and then the highs of that achievement is so huge that you just cannot repeat the same intensity and may lose to the 100th ranked player the next day.
Amazing consistency
It says a lot about Westwood's stature in the game that McIlroy was so intent on beating him. For any player, and especially one on the European Tour, the Englishman remains the one to beat because of the amazing consistency he has shown over the last few years. That was the bigger prize for McIlroy than winning the tournament or becoming the world No 1. They have high regard for each other's ability, and there is that bit of needle now after the young man decided to change his management company.
This is not to demean Mahan in any way. He is a fantastic player in any form of the game, and especially in this one-on-one format. Of course, he is the one who will always be remembered to have lost that all-important match to Graeme McDowell in the last Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor, but I said it then and I say it again: Mahan's match play credentials are impeccable. I am sure he will be central to US Captain Davis Love III's plans this year at Medinah.
Jeev Milkha Singh is a three time champion on the European Tour
