Whew: Rory And Caroline Speaking Again On Twitter

Check that theory question off the list.

With Caroline sensing Rory's dismay at red card issued in the Champions League showdown between Manchester United and Real Madrid, this means writers who did not get the Sunday exclusive on his reasons for quitting at last week's Honda can focus their Wednesday press conference skepticism on the gaping holes in his WD story and game.

The spellbinding Twitter exchange that washes away all of our worries.

Rory Speaks: Realizes He Should Have Finished His Round

Michael Bamberger scored an exclusive Sunday night conversation with the lad who admitted that his quitting on the ninth hole of the Honda Classic was a "reactive decision" and that he knew soon after he left the course.

The wisdom tooth issue appears to have been exaggerated. I know you're shocked to learn this.

On Monday his Belfast dentist, Mark Conroy, faxed a letter to the PGA Tour offices describing McIlroy’s condition with both of his lower wisdom teeth. McIlroy said he wore braces for a period last year in an effort to create separation for the two teeth, one of which he said was “growing sideways.” He also said he has been prescribed a painkiller, which he did not use on Friday but will use as needed until he next sees Conroy, most likely after the U.S. Open in June. At that time, his lower right wisdom tooth is expected to be pulled.

Now it's after the U.S. Open?

On Friday, within a half hour of shaking hands with Els and Wilson, McIlroy knew that by quitting he had done the wrong thing. He drove to his home, in a gated development in Jupiter, with his instructor, Michael Bannon, and his caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald. Soon after, he was joined by his parents, Rosie and Gerry, and by liaison Sean O’Flaherty, who works for Horizon Sports Management, the Dublin agency that represents McIlroy. Rory spoke by phone to his agent, Conor Ridge. “By the time I got home I was saying, ‘We need to reassess here,’ ” McIlroy said.

"Reassess" was apparently in reference to his swing, which he worked on with Michael Bannon over the weekend, and not in reference to spinning the PR aftermath.

Key Evidence In Rory-Caroline Breakup Speculation: Recent Disappearance Of Witty, Lovebirdsy Twitter Banter!

The Irish Independent's Niamh Horan "asks if the Nike Curse has struck again as the golf genius and his tennis ace lover appear to go into meltdown."

Here key evidence?

That lack of Twitter activity between the two in recent days...

The pair, who are usually very communicative with one another over Twitter, have not publicly conversed on the social networking site for several days.

The Trials & Tribulations Of "World No. 1" Status

With Stacy Lewis's win in Singapore, she's moving in on top ranked Yani Tseng, who lamented the "No. 1" pressure in an unbylined wire story.

"It's tough and it's very lonely," she said. "No one knows how do you feel. Everybody wants to be in your shoes, but no one knows how tough is that."

"The first year, when I was world No. 1, I feel good. But every month, everybody keeps building the expectations on me and that's lots of pressure."

And...

"World No. 1, I know it's good and people like it, but I want to care about myself more," she said. "If I lose (it), I'll get back one day, too."

Meanwhile Joe Posnanski writes about the "crippling" pressure created by a pesky algorithm putting a "1" next to your name.

These guys are pros, of course, and they train themselves to not think about any of this, to keep their thoughts positive and their visualizations clear … but it isn’t easy. And then, suddenly, a player is No. 1. And it all explodes. Every putt is world news. Reporters are everywhere. Everything you say is a headline, every opinion you offer (about golf or not) is analyzed and scrutinized. Expectations are insane – a bad round leads newscasts around the world. Whispers surround you. People invest hopes in you. It’s a lot to deal with. It’s hard to keep your bearings.

Call the Red Cross!

Anyway, this was fascinating...

Jack Nicklaus – who handled the No. 1 spot in the world better than anyone in golf history – said it best.

Today's trivia question readers, how many weeks did Jack Nicklaus spend in the World No. 1 spot?

Really, why do people take the golf rankings so seriously? I understand players wanting to get in the top 50 Club because of the perks that go along with it, but this is not tennis. Does the Official World Golf Ranking even come close to consistently telling us who is playing best in the world?

Update on 2013-03-04 16:04 by Geoff

**Mercifully, Holly Sonders on Golf Channel Morning Drive brought some sanity to this discussion during the, uh, "Wolf" segment (don't ask):

"I've never heard of Roger Federer complaining or lamenting about being world No. 1. In golf I think we need to take a page from other sports' books, so to speak, and get that competitive fire back. What are we doing?"

Rory Steals From Tiger Playbook Again: Walk-Off WD

There was no helicopter television coverage this time, but Dave Shedloski reports from Bear Trap National on Rory McIlroy's bizarre walk-off WD. It came at the Honda Classic after taking 41 shots on his first nine holes, but before he'd putted out on the ninth.

The scene was reminiscent of last year's WGC-Cadillac Championship when Tiger Woods withdrew on the 12th hole of the final round and promptly exited Doral Resort. Woods cited an Achilles injury that afternoon. Ken Kennerly, the tournament's executive director, said he was still awaiting word on the reason for McIlroy's withdrawal. According to the Associated Press, McIlroy said he was "not in a good place mentally."

Golf Channel's Bailey Mosier posted this ominous Tweet:

Rorys agent: "He's not hurt. He's not sick. And he won't answer his phone. I don't know."

The official PGA Tour account says McIlroy withdraw from severe wisdom tooth pain.

Update on 2013-03-01 16:22 by Geoff

**McIlroy's official statement put out by the tour:

"I sincerely apologize to The Honda Classic and PGA Tour for my sudden withdrawal. I have been suffering with a sore wisdom tooth, which is due to come out in the near future. It began bothering me again last night, so I relieved it with Advil. It was very painful again this morning, and I was simply unable to concentrate. It was really bothering me and had begun to affect my playing partners. I came here with every intention of defending my Honda Classic title. Even though my results haven't revealed it, I really felt like I was rounding a corner. This is one of my favorite tournaments of the year and I regret having to make the decision to withdraw, but it was one I had to make."

Update on 2013-03-01 16:28 by Geoff

**Rory Tweeted that he is "gutted."

And he's already gotten feedback from followers.

Update on 2013-03-01 17:24 by Geoff

**Jeff Babineau was there and says McIlroy was near tears.

The defending champion at the Honda, who has captured two major championships by age 23, was near tears as his caddie placed his clubs into the trunk of his blue BMW sports car and he headed out of the lot at PGA National shortly before 10 a.m.

He was 7 over for his round (and the tournament) heading down the 18th fairway, and chose not to drop a ball and hit his fourth shot.

“There’s not really say much I can say, guys,” he said to three reporters in the parking lot. “I’m not in a good place mentally, you know?”

Update on 2013-03-01 18:25 by Geoff

**Bob Harig notes that "The tournament withdrawal rules McIlroy ineligible to win the PGA Tour's scoring title" that McIlroy won in 2012.

Jason Sobel is pretty blunt:  "This is beyond poor form. This is quitting. This is John Daly territory. This is the absolute opposite of what we expect and demand from our superstars."

Update on 2013-03-01 18:09 by Geoff

**Will Gray has this and other quotes from playing partner Ernie Els:

"I'm a great fan of Rory's, but I don't think that was the right thing to do," Els explained after firing an even-par 70, leaving him at 1 under for the tournament.

Update on 2013-03-01 19:45 by Geoff

**A nice GolfDigest.com rundown by Alex Myers of bizarro WD's, including Sergio's zit issue!

Update on 2013-03-01 19:46 by Geoff

**Brandel Chamblee on Golf Channel:

“Todd Lewis (Golf Channel reporter) hit the nail on the head when he said this is going to add to the questions that already existed due to the equipment change and the poor play, and not busting 75 in the two rounds he played over in the Middle East.  The contrast of the stories, the one saying he is in good form, another saying he did not know what was wrong and then later saying it was due to a wisdom tooth issue, will raise further criticism…Clearly this is not an equipment issue.  This is a golf swing issue, and in this particular instance, and anybody who has dealt with wisdom pain can tell you, it is almost impossible to do anything other than deal with the issue of the pain.”

Video: Rory Stopping A Ball On The Back Of His Wedge

As if Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy don't have enough to bond over, it seems Rory might have one-upped the old geezer when it comes to wedge tricks.

While Tiger's old Nike ad remains a pretty incredible work of craftsmanship, for the life of me I can't figure out this trick Rory pulls where the ball goes from his clubface to the back of the wedge.

Thanks to Shane Bacon for pointing it out.

Video: Rory's Duck Hook

Who says you can't hit a duck hook with modern equipment?

The good news? No one was there to see Rory McIllroy show off his new equipment en route to an opening 75 in the HSBC at Abu Dhabi.

The bad news? Television was there.

Who would have guessed it's January?

Update on 2013-01-17 18:40 by Geoff

**Bob Harig addresses Rory's club change and short transition period in light of the opening round.

Although indications are that McIlroy knew he'd be making the switch as far back as September, the transition period has not been that long.

It is hard to imagine McIlroy working with the new clubs much when he still had tournaments to play and was contractually obligated to use the old ones. He visited Nike's testing center in Forth Worth, Texas, and got hooked up with all manner of apparatus to lock in launch angles and swing speeds and all the other technical stuff professional golfers endure to try and get their equipment just right.