Rory McIlroy gets superstar treatment
With seven police officers encircling him and about 200 autograph-seeking fans crammed six deep around the rope line off the 18th green, Rory McIlroy showed again Wednesday morning that — at least until Tiger Woods arrived — he was the superstar of this PGA Championship.
"It's like being at a rock concert in the '60s," fan Sharon Raymond of Clarksville, Ind., said.
McIlroy, the world's No. 1 player, signed a swarm of yellow and white pin flags at Valhalla Golf Club and had to turn away dozens of fans, including Raymond, before he headed back to the clubhouse after his early morning practice round.
The police officers had to repeatedly request that fans to stop pushing forward so as not to hurt some of the young boys who were leaning on the front row of the ropes to see McIlroy.
"You couldn't breathe; there was no air," said a laughing Raymond, who attended the practice round with her son.
Everyone came away fine, but the autograph swarm was a sign of McIlroy's immense popularity this week.
Raymond, who also attended the 1996 and 2000 PGA Championships and the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla, said McIlroy is clearly the biggest draw of this year's tournament.
McIlroy is the man to see for a reason. The 25-year-old from Northern Ireland won the British Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational his last two starts, and no one in the world is playing better.
"He's playing fantastic. He's flushing it, ripping it, very, very impressive," said Darren Clarke, McIlroy's countryman and Wednesday practice partner. "Any golf course in the world would suit Rory at the moment. … He's just doing everything right."
Clarke knows what it feels like to be a major champion, having won the 2011 British Open, but he's never been in a groove like McIlroy is now.
"I've had runs where I've played like that but not quite as good as he is hitting the ball at the minute," Clarke said. "Rory can do whatever he wants. He's probably the most talented player in the world in the game of golf at the minute. He's hitting it beautiful."
Steve Jones can be reached at (502) 582-7176 and followed on Twitter at @SteveJones_CJ.