In an unusual bit of pique world No. 1, Rory McIlroy walked off the golf course after just eight holes on Friday and withdrew from the Honda Classic.
Starting his second round on the back nine he struggled with a double-bogey at No. 11, and a bogey at No. 13. Things got worse as he posted a triple-bogey-seven on the difficult par-4 No. 16. Another bogey at No. 17 brought him to seven-over-par through just eight holes.
His tee shot on No. 18 found the fairway, but his second shot to the par-5 found the water that borders the right side of the fairway.
At that point McIlroy had enough fun for one day. Facing another bogey or a possible double-bogey, he thanked his playing partners, walked directly to the parking lot and headed for home.
This was only McIlroy’s third start of 2013. With two rounds of 75-75 in Abu Dhabi in January, he missed the cut. He was knocked out of the WGC-Accenture last week in the first match by the No. 64 seed, Shane Lowry.
He bogeyed No. 18 in the first round on Thursday after missing the green from 107 yards and posted an even-par 70.
Golf Fans do not expect to see the No. 1 ranked player in the world struggle to the extent that McIlroy is demonstrating.
He was obviously annoyed during his round on Friday. His game is not responding to practice and club adjustments.
The Florida Swing begins the run-up to the Masters and players want to use these events to fine tune their games as they head toward Augusta.
McIlroy is in the major overhaul stage, not minor tweaking.
We have seen this type of play from McIlroy before. After a fast start in 2012, he ascended to the No. 1 ranking. He then missed cuts at the Players, the Memorial, and the U.S. Open. He finished T-40 at the 2012 Masters and T-60 at the 2012 Open Championship.
With the help of his long-time swing instructor, Michael Bannon, McIlroy rebounded with a T-5 at the Bridgestone in August before wins at the PGA Championship, the Deutsche Bank and the BMW Championship.
He eventually won the money titles on both the PGA and European Tours last year.
McIlroy is experiencing a bump in the road right now, but it is a very long road and he is only 23 years old.
At the moment he is not confident with his swing or clubs. He will get it figured out sooner than later and will be back in the winners circle.
Golf is not about the shot that you just executed. It is about how you handle the next shot.