From Collapse to Victory in Two Months: The Story of Rory McIlroy

on March 19, 2018

The Masters Tournament is the first major golf championship of the year, beginning in the month of April. The tournament typically lasts from Thursday through Sunday, provided that there are no delays. Golfers competing in the Masters play a round of golf, consisting of 18 holes, each day and the winner is decided on Sunday. The winner is the golfer with the lowest score. Many elite golfers from all over the world compete in the tournament in hopes of winning not only hundreds of thousands of dollars, but also the support and applause of the many people watching the Masters.

The size of the crowd at the Masters Tournament
in Augusta, Georgia

During the 2011 Masters Tournament, one golfer in particular especially felt the effects of the crowd. Rory McIlroy, a 21-year-old golfer from Ireland, was playing in his first major golf tournament. After the first three days, McIlroy was ahead by four and was on par to win the tournament the next day. However, his golf performance completely collapsed on the tenth hole that Sunday. From there, his performance continued to go downhill; he eventually tied for fifteenth. Obviously after his horrific Masters performance, McIlroy was disappointed in himself and was quite embarrassed about his performance. It was his first major tournament and the first time he competed in front of a large crowd of people. McIlroy was devastated because he was unsure how he could recover from this disappointing collapse and how he could come back from the embarrassment of losing in such a difficult way.

McIlroy on the Sunday of the
2011 Masters Tournament

About two months later, McIlroy competed in the 2011 U.S. Open at the Congressional Country Club in Maryland. It was there that he became the youngest U.S. Open winner since 1923! In just two months, he went from losing in embarrassing fashion at the Masters to winning the U.S. Open while simultaneously setting records. Not only was he the youngest U.S. Open winner since 1923, but he also set a record for the most strokes under par at the U.S. Open. So how did he go from collapsing at the Masters to becoming victorious at the U.S. Open?

There are many varying explanations as to why this happened. In sports especially, there are many reasons why and how an athlete may experience failure one day and success the next; an athlete’s diet, amount of sleep, and inner thoughts may influence their performance. However, there are also factors that an athlete cannot control. Social facilitation in which the presence of others boosts performance on easier tasks but decreases performance on more difficult tasks can also explain athletic performance. Although golf would be considered an easier task to McIlroy because he had played it for so long, playing golf at the Masters would have been considered a difficult task for McIlroy because it was his first time playing in front of such a large crowd. In other words, his performance at the Masters could be explained by the distraction-conflict theory. The theory explains that the presence of others creates social facilitation effects only when the people distract from the task and cause attentional issues. McIlroy was trying to focus on his athletic performance, but he was distracted by the large number of people watching him play.

McIlroy holding the 2011 U.S. Open trophy after winning the tournament

Although there are many explanations as to why McIlroy experienced varying degrees of success in such a short amount of time, the best explanation would be supported by the distraction-conflict theory. Because it was his first time competing in front of such a large crowd, he experienced failure at the Masters. However, once he was used to competing in front of a crowd, he became accustomed to it and eventually disregarded the crowd size at the U.S. Open, where he won in record-setting fashion.

Rory McIlroy is not alone in his experience; in fact, many professional athletes and sports teams experience success at the hand of failure. If you are interested, here is a link of successful sports athletes and teams collapsing at crucial times during the year 2016. It should be noted that although these athletes and teams did not win the championship in this year, they were successful in future games and competitions.

References:

Masters anniversaries: A look back at Rory McIlroy's 2011 collapse at Augusta. (2016, April 09). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from http://www.skysports.com/golf/news/24503/10216004/augusta-anniversaries-a-look-back-at-rory-mcilroys-2011-collapse