"In the absence of any meaningful, professional management of his dealings with the media, McIlroy is going to continue to face a lot more aggravation than he really needs to."

Media bashers won't buy the argument, but Karl MacGinty lays out an eloquent case for why Rory McIlroy will continue to have weird little off-course dust-ups until his break-up with Horizon is settled.

His 'Black Friday' at the Honda Classic in March, when McIlroy walked off the 18th fairway and abandoned the tournament after completing just eight holes of the second round, is an obvious case in point.

His honest, heartfelt answer to reporters was that his head simply wasn't in the right place which earned respect and sympathy throughout the game.

Yet the drama turned into an enduring PR crisis when, within the hour, a statement was issued citing wisdom toothache as the reason for McIlroy's withdrawal, sparking a "mental or dental" which festered for five days until he (sort of) "cleared the air" in a media conference.

In fairness, Horizon were, I understand, in the process of appointing a full-time media and PR liaison officer for McIlroy when they were stunned by news last May of the golfer's decision to set up a team of relatives, friends and close confidants to manage his own affairs.

As lawyers from both sides try to settle serious contractual issues, McIlroy is in a managerial 'twilight zone', but until the legal situation is resolved, he cannot officially appoint his new team.

Caroline Fights Back! Restores Couples Shot To Twitter Profile

Well at least we know she's reading the Irish tabloids.

Caroline Wozniacki's Twitter page, in case you aren't following her.

PGA Match Play Showdown: Rory Defeats Hopkins, 7&6

Michael Whitmer covers Ian Poulter's call to the media to chill out on the Rory ripping (video here), check out the exchange between McIlroy and Global Golf Post's John Hopkins later in the press center.

The video is more revealing (could not find any), but either way say what you want about the state of the lad's game, he handled this better than most would:

Q. Ian Poulter was in here a couple of hours ago, and we were asking him about you, and he said he thought that we should lay off you. Do you feel we should lay off you?

RORY McILROY: I don't know, I mean, it's ... I'd definitely rather be up here talking about more positive things, but I guess that's the way it is.

Should you lay off me? That's not for me to decide. That's not ... I'm here and I'm answering your questions and that's all I can do. Yeah, as I said, it would be nicer just to sit up here, talk about some more positive things, but the way this year's gone, it's understandable why I'm not.

Q. It's very nice of you to say it's not for you to decide, but you're the only person who can decide whether you think we should lay off you?
RORY McILROY: You're the only people who can decide whether you lay off me or not, so it's not my decision. (Laughter).

Q. You can say whether you think we should.

RORY McILROY: No, I think you should do what you want. Ask me the questions that you want to ask (shrugging shoulders).

McIlroy tees off at 1:25 ET with Vijay Singh and Martin Kaymer.

Beetroot? Rory Gets Past Champions Their Daily Manganese

Nice to see defending champion Rory McIlroy introducing the past PGA Champions to a some healthy food at Tuesday's dinner for former winners of "the season's final major which is no longer Glory's Last Shot."

From Tuesday's press conference:

Q. Can you just tell us, what was on the menu last night, and what do you think's on the menu for you this week? What do you think your chances are?

RORY McILROY: Menu last night was a goat's cheese and beet root salad for a starter and Irish tenderloin for the main course and then sticky toffee pudding for dessert. So it was good. It was nice. Everyone definitely enjoyed the last two courses; I don't know how the appetizer went down.

Can Rory Turn It Around At Firestone Like Last Year?

Maybe the only intriguing storyline at the WGC Bridgestone is Rory McIlroy's attempt to kickstart his season as he did last year.

Derek Lawrenson in the Daily Mail wonders if it's simply a matter of losing focus while noting an alarming number for the European Tour: McIlroy is 84th in the Race to Dubai where only 60 qualify. McIlroy has four starts to get into the top 60.

Kevin Garside in The Independent makes a case that "McIlroy’s problem is every player’s problem. It’s called form. And no game demands more of body and mind than golf."

I'm just still worried about his dental pain.

Update on 2013-08-01 06:34 by Geoff

**Jeff Rude on Rory's search for answers taking him to Northern Ireland. No mention of a dentist visit.

After missing the Open Championship cut at Muirfield, he worked on his swing with coach Michael Bannon and played a few rounds with buddies back home in Northern Ireland. Bannon’s TrackMan, a golf radar device that measures aspects such as club delivery and launch angle, gave McIlroy instant feedback about his motion. Golf with his pals, though, might have been more beneficial.

“We play so much golf on Tour, you sort of forget why you play the game,” McIlroy said. “You play the game because you love it. (Playing with them was) something I really enjoyed. I have an attitude change.”

What’s more, McIlroy worked on his putting Tuesday and Wednesday in Akron with putting coach Dave Stockton, the winner of two PGA Championships. McIlroy left those sessions saying he felt in a “better place” with his stroke.

“I feel I have everything I need to go forward,” he said.

Gary Player Bolts From Gate In The Blame Caroline Stakes

It was only a matter of time, but at least Gary Player didn't invoke a Yoko reference in suggesting that young Caroline Wozniacki isn't helping Rory McIlroy's golf game.

Speaking to My Sporting Life (you can listen to a 1:30 excerpt too):

“When you’re in love as a young man naturally golf seems to take second place for a while. It’s natural. Love is still the greatest thing that ever happens in our lives.

“But the thing is for a man like Rory with talent galore he’s got to make sure he has a woman like I’ve got, who has been married [to me] for 56 years, that has only encouraged me to do well and made sacrifices.

“He’s got to be intelligent and find the right wife. If he finds the right wife, if he practices and if he’s dedicated, he could be the man.”

Rory Begins Practicing For PGA During The Open

Martyn Herman with Rory McIlroy's post round assertion that he began hitting drivers after a bad start, all to start preparing for the next major.

"I decided that I was going to hit driver every hole that I could, because that's going to be a big factor the next few weeks, and I actually drove the ball pretty well, and ended up playing the last 11 holes even par.

"That was encouraging, but obviously I'm disappointed to be going home for the weekend. It's the first time I've missed a cut at the Open."

Jonathan McEvoy assesses the state of Rory's game and life, wondering what Rory will "ponder in the barren hours of an unexpectedly free weekend." Caroline is all but blamed, Andy Murray cited.

...will he talk through with his tennis star girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki? This brings us — in the absence of Freud — to an instructive comparison between two of the most exciting talents in UK sport: Andy Murray, 26, and the troubled McIlroy, 24.

Murray has in place a lifestyle geared to top-level sport: a steady girlfriend, Kim Sears, who travels with him some of the time and knows how to lend her support unobtrusively, settled management in Simon Fuller’s XIX Entertainment and a coach in Ivan Lendl who is as grizzled a relic of the cold, old East as the Berlin Wall.

For McIlory, the story is strikingly different. It has been estimated that he attends 70 per cent of Wozniacki’s tournaments. He was at the Italian Open for four or five days; he hot-footed to the Eastbourne Championships from the US Golf Open to see her and then on to Wimbledon.

Rory After 79: I'm "brain dead"

Refreshingly honest even after a brutal opening round at Muirfield, Rory McIlroy still faced the press and gave an honest assessment of his game.

Phil Casey reports:

"But sometimes I feel like I'm walking around out there and I'm unconscious. I just need to try to think more. I'm trying to focus and trying to concentrate. But I can't really fathom it at the minute and it's hard to stand up here and tell you guys what's really wrong."

Johnny On Rory: "You're asking for huge trouble when you change all your clubs and your golf ball at the same time.

From a Q&A with Ron Kroichick in the SF Chronicle, touching on many topics:

"Then I would say it's one thing to change your driver or wedge, but you're asking for huge trouble when you change all your clubs and your golf ball at the same time. I did it with Wilson, and I went into an immediate slump for four or five months.

"His 9-iron and wedge have been really horrendous, and he just lost the magic with his putting. He's hit the grand slam of things you have to watch out for when you're at the top. He's a bit of a mess."

Rory Would Add A Tournament If Not For His Sponsor Obligations

Two weeks before the Open Championship, Ewan Murray quotes Rory McIlroy saying something he may regret.

"I have got a couple of commitments next week and the week after as well," McIlroy said. "If I didn't have those couple of things to do over the next couple of weeks, I probably would have added an event."

Update on 2013-06-28 23:34 by Geoff

**In Derek Lawrenson's account of the Irish Open and the huge hit sponsor's are taking by losing all of the homeland heroes, he mentions another obligation: a cousin's wedding. That helps a little but still likely leaves one of the two weeks as an event that could have been added.

This was McIlroy's last event before the Open at Muirfield in just over a fortnight's time and he admitted in an ideal world he would be playing in the French Open next week, or the final event before the season's third major, the Scottish Open. A couple of contractual commitments have put paid to that, plus a long-time promise to attend his cousin's wedding.  

Rory Apologizes For Merion Club Bender, Which Means It's Worth Another Look!

I didn't post this one at the time because it was just too soon, but now getting to watch Rory McIlroy bend an iron after dumping a second shot into Cobb's Creek serves as a reminder to all of the young people out there that it is a very special talent to break a club and look good doing it. One of the few talents lacking from Mr. McIlroy's repertoire.

From Supersport: 

 "I just got frustrated and definitely it was not the right thing to do," he said.

"I would not recommend anyone or anyone watching on TV or any kids to start throwing or bending their 9-irons.

"But the 9-iron is intact and I've got a new shaft this week and it's ready to go."

Kids, this is for you...

Update on 2013-06-27 15:35 by Geoff

**Rory says he feels "lost" on the course (not the range) right now after an opening 74 in the Irish Open.

"At the moment, no aspects of my game are strong and I'm just feeling a bit lost at the moment," he said. "It feels good on the range and I can hit all the shots but when I get out on the course it really does not seem to be there.

"Off the tee, I am missing one right and then missing one left and it's just not going where I want it. It gets you in two minds every time you are playing a tee shot.

"The game is just not coming easy to me at the moment and while I was struggling at this point last year, I was able to turn the corner in the middle of the summer and have a great end to my season.

"I don't know whether it's a matter of trying to play my way out of it or just keep grinding away on the range or whatever."