Rory has new reasons to smile

Marriage, equipment deal cheer McIlroy ahead of TPC

Rory McIlroy checks out a bobblehead likeness of himself during a Tuesday media conference ahead of the The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Warren Little / Getty Images Via Afp

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida - A ring on his finger and new clubs in his bag.

If marriage and a new equipment deal were not enough to make Rory McIlroy smile, he was also presented with his own bobblehead for winning the FedEx Cup last year.

That's the only thing that made him feel old.

"All these wrinkles around my eyes," McIlroy said on Tuesday as he gazed at the doll. "It makes me look like I've been touring for two decades instead of one."

He is about to complete his 10th full year as a pro, and it's been a reasonable ride.

The Northern Irishman, who turned 28 last Thursday, already has 21 victories around the world and four major championships. But he's gone through quite a bit since he tied for seventh at the Masters last month.

"I needed to address a few issues in between Augusta and here, and I did that with the first 10 days after Augusta," McIlroy said.

That was related to his equipment, and McIlroy wound up with his fourth brand of clubs in the last five years.

He left Titleist for Nike to start 2013, and when Nike got out of the club-making business last year, he began using Callaway. He still wasn't entirely comfortable, especially with the ball, so he went back to testing and wound up signing a long-term deal with TaylorMade, reportedly worth $100 million.

"I came to the conclusion that was the best way forward for me to try to improve, try to win more, try to get back to world No 1, try to win more majors," McIlroy said. "So I'm really excited about that."

He was excited about his wedding, too.

McIlroy met his bride, Erica Stoll, nearly five years ago when she worked for the PGA of America in transportation for the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Stoll played a big part in sparing him major embarrassment when McIlroy forgot he was in the Central time zone and needed a police escort to the course. He got there with minutes to spare and won his match, and Europe staged a record-tying comeback.

They married two weeks ago in Ireland and spent their honeymoon in the Caribbean.

"It was obviously the best weekend of my life, and hopefully, the best weekend of Erica's, as well," McIlroy said.

"It seems like with all that's gone on over the last few weeks - getting married and teaming up with TaylorMade - everything's very settled.

"There's not many question marks in my life right now. I feel like everything's exactly where it's meant to be. If you feel like that off the golf course, then I can only imagine that it will help you on it."

And now it's back to work.

McIlroy, whose combined 95 weeks atop the world ranking are the most of any player since 2010, currently sits at No 2 - but he's so far behind Dustin Johnson that he could win The Players Championship and the US Open and still not catch up to the American.

McIlroy has not won anywhere in the world since his playoff victory in the Tour Championship last year to capture the FedEx Cup.

This week doesn't figure to be any easier, not so much because it has the strongest and deepest field, but because of the nature of the Stadium Course on the TPC Sawgrass.

"It is the toughest tournament to win in golf," former No 1 Jordan Spieth said.

For all his greatness, McIlroy didn't even break par at The Players until his fourth appearance. He missed the cut three straight times, and although he has improved in recent years, he has never been closer than four shots off the winner.

"I've always felt that driving is a big advantage for me," McIlroy said. "Here, it just doesn't let me do that, and earlier on in my career I had to come to terms with that and come to terms with hitting the ball in the same positions as everyone else off the tee and then trying to beat them in from there."

Johnson arrived on Tuesday fresh off a runner-up finish in the Wells Fargo Championship that ended his three-tournament winning streak. The defending champion is Jason Day, who went wire to wire a year ago. That was his last victory.

"As well as all the great players who have won here, they all have different styles of game," said 2004 winner Adam Scott.

"I think the course is open to so many different guys to have a chance to win that maybe that's why it makes it a little bit harder to have someone go back to back here. There's just more guys in the mix."

Associated Press