When it comes to Rory McIlroy, look beyond Riviera
— -- When he was in his professional prime, Tiger Woods never offered the possibility of any shortcomings in his performance or his health. When asked about his game, he'd often insist: "I'm close." When asked about any injuries, he'd often say: "I'm good."
If he was honest with himself, he might look back and wish he'd been a little more open. The main takeaway from any of these interview sessions was always that Tiger was in peak form -- and as we all knew, Tiger in peak form was better than everyone else. Way better.
But the unintended by-product of these comments was that he raised expectations for himself to the level that anything less than a dominant victory was a huge letdown. He raised the bar so high that it became continuously more difficult to clear it.
I get it, though.
Golf is as much mental pursuit as physical contest. It's a game in which confidence can be the intangible difference between winning and losing. And so, Tiger never wanted to allow that he was anything less than 100 percent, because that would be an admission that his confidence was somewhere below 100 percent, as well.
I'm convinced that many of today's stars took note of Tiger's consistent insistence that he was in peak form and -- consciously or subconsciously -- they picked up on that practice.
Many of these players -- especially those 20-somethings in the current top-five -- are often honest to a fault. They'll admit when they don't like a golf course or a certain shot bothers them.
It's very rare, though, that even these Honest Abe's will admit their inadequacies. It's that whole confidence thing all over again.
After the final round of the Northern Trust Open this past Sunday, I spoke with Rory McIlroy. He was just minutes removed from a round that saw him open with eagle to grab a share of the lead, only to post seven bogeys in a 4-over 75 and finish in a share of 20th place.
Obviously, he didn't have his best stuff. And to his credit, he admitted that.
When I asked about his expectations for this week's Honda Classic, though, he insisted that tee to green his swing feels very comfortable now, and even though he enjoyed playing Riviera, he's excited to get back to some more familiar Bermuda greens.
Now, I'm not suggesting that any of what he told me is untrue. McIlroy is perhaps the most honest of these honest young players and I trust him on his word.
But it all got me to thinking about players' assessments of their own games -- and as it relates to this column, how it can impact your DFS lineups.
Think about it: How many times have you scoured the Internet for comments from a golfer, read about him sounding confident entering that week, picked him in DFS and wound up being let down?
