It’s ridiculous to write off Rory McIlroy’s chances at The Masters just because he is pulling out of a couple of tournaments now, and might take a short break from the game in February to deal with his legal situation.
As of now, McIlroy is scheduled to play both his usual Desert Swing events – the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic – followed by the Honda Classic in the last week of February.
That is more or less the same schedule he had last year, and the year before that. Of course, he also played the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in February, but that tournament has now been moved to a later date.
The only difference this time would be the fact that he has a distracting date in the Dublin court in the second week of February, which can potentially save him millions of dollars, or force him to part with a huge amount as compensation to Horizon Sports for clinching him a couple of massive deals during the few months they were his manager.
I am sure even McIlroy realises that he needs to pay Horizon for representing him. The only question that remains now is how much? McIlroy’s contention is that Horizon were charging him way too much compared to industry standards and some other clients Horizon had at the time, namely Graeme McDowell.
A management company’s commission on deals secured for a player mostly depends on the earning capability of that player. So, while someone like Tiger Woods might pay in the region of three to five per cent, a newcomer would be paying close to 15 to 20 per cent for endorsement deals.
Without knowing the exact deal McIlroy had with Horizon, I’d guess he might have to pay them somewhere around $5 million for the $100m Nike deal. It may even be less considering that Horizon would no longer be ‘servicing’ the client on behalf of McIlroy.
Obviously, $5m is not a trivial amount, but for someone who is as young, as rich and as focused on his trade as McIlroy, it really isn’t going to give him sleepless nights. After all, we saw how he came out of his personal situation earlier this year and won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth the same week he called off his marriage to Caroline Wozniacki.
In fact, I am pretty sure that just the closure of his legal case against Horizon will cheer him up enough to go on another bullish run. If he saves some money, it would make him happy, and if he loses some, he’d probably be that much more motivated to earn it back.
It really looks like a win-win situation for McIlroy right now, and I certainly won’t scale down his chances at Augusta National in the second week of April.
Tiger’s big month
You’d think that after enduring what really has been the annus horribilis of his golfing career, Tiger Woods couldn’t wait for January.
Well, looks like it’s December that Woods is more excited about.
Two reasons for that – he makes his professional comeback in his own World Challenge tournament after a second lay-off because of his back issues, and also, because on December 16, the first golf course designed by Woods will be opened for scrutiny.
It is not for public consumption though, as the El Cardonal course at Diamante in Mexico is a private golf club.
The golf course will represent a major milestone in the career of the former world No1, who once told me in an interview that his interest in designing a golf course started late in his amateur career.
Dubai will always remain an important part in the process of his becoming a golf course designer, because it was here, way back in 2008, that Woods had announced his first golf course project.
The Tiger Woods Dubai never saw the light of the day and became a victim of the global economic downturn, but Woods did design several holes and four of them were even shaped and grassed.
In fact, even the greatest golfer of all time could not stand up to the recession and Tiger Woods Dubai was just one of his first three golf courses which never got completed. The others being one in Asheville, North Carolina, and one in Mexico’s Baja Coast.
And an update on his golf, Woods has now started taking full swings again as he recuperates from his back injury.
Quotes of the Week
“It makes a big statement in my opinion… I thought it was a wonderful idea and I’m really excited and anxious to hear the ideas” – Jim Furyk’s reaction on the formation of the Ryder Cup task force
“That’s sort of overkill. We’ve had 70 years of the Ryder Cup, and it’s gotten along just fine. The pendulum will swing back without making a monumental thing about it” – Jack Nicklaus’ contrasting view on the task force
WHAT’S IN THE BAG
Mikko Ilonen
Winner Volvo World Match Play Championship
Driver: TaylorMade SLDR (10.5 degrees)
3-Wood: Callaway X Hot (15 degrees) Callaway X Hot Pro (18 degrees)
3-4 Irons: Titleist 712U 5-9 Irons: Titleist AP2 714
Wedges: Titleist AP2 714 (48 degree); Cleveland 588 RTX (54 and 60 degree)
Putter: Odyssey Versa #1
Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
EVENTS THIS WEEK
PGA Tour
The McGladrey Classic Course: Seaside Course Sea Island, Georgia
Purse: $5.6 million
Defending champ: Chris Kirk
European Tour
ISPS Handa Perth International
Course: Lake Karrinyup CC Perth, Australia
Purse: A$1.75 million
Defending champ: Jin Jeong
