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Rory McIlroy was grateful. It was reflective. He was understanding. It was appreciated again. He was disappointed. He was meditating again. He was optimistic. It was appreciated again. Across 96 words and one answer.
Birthdays and birthday wishes make you feel a few things.
“It was absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said Thursday when asked how he felt after people all over Wells Fargo hoped he’d be happy at the 34th.
“I guess it’s my 11th birthday that I’m celebrating in Charlotte. I’m kind of used to it. Yeah, look, it’s really nice. It’s not nice to have to get up at 4:30 a.m. on your birthday, but in the end – It’s just another day. I feel as good now as I did at 24, so, however, I still feel like I have a lot of good years left in me. It’s good to have you out there and everyone is wishing you, kind of wishing you a good day.”
actually. Then there was his thirty-third year. it was all. And then some. People could write books about it, but we’ll try to put it all into a few sentences. We’ll go in a loose order. There was a win at the Canadian Open, while there was a slam dunk at Greg Norman. There were near misses, again, at the PGA Championship, the US Open and the US Open, of which the latter, at St Andrews, was more painful. There was a LIV golf battle. There has been a reformation of the PGA Tour. There was a victory in the Tour Championship. There was a crown to winning the season-long points race at the DP World Tour. There has been a rise to world No. 1. There has been a collapse of masters. That’s a lot. And that’s just his job.
And there was a timeout. After Augusta, he took one. In doing so, he lost $3 million by skipping one of the PGA Tour’s high-profile events, but he needed a break. (If you need a breakdown of why he lost his money, Please click here.)
“I think I need to put golf into perspective a little more,” McIlroy told a group of reporters Tuesday at the Quail Hollow Club. “I feel like my life has been completely consumed by me in the past 12 months. It has been a very turbulent time, and being in the position I am in, it has taken up a lot of my time.
“I think the last 12 months with everything that’s happened… has been a big 12 months. I don’t quite know that I’ve sat down to really think about things. I never had a chance to think about the St Andrews Open and everything that happened there.
“It was nice to have just three weeks to put all this stuff in the rearview mirror and focus on what’s coming. Three more majors. The whole golf season is still playing. It’s been a good three weeks to kind of do all that and freshen up and get ready for the next few months.” “.
And that brings us back to his birthday.
And again we put the record straight, and while it’s an empty and overused phrase, it’s kind of appropriate here. You are evaluating. You are staying. Birthdays make you do that especially.
Perhaps that’s why Wednesday’s moment is a little different.
Thirty-four children have performed McIlroy’s thirty-fourth serenade.
Optum, a healthcare services provider that McIlroy supports, rounded up the crew. They made signs. They brought McElroy a birthday cake in the shape of a Taylor Made golf bag, complete with a dog headdress. They hit the record and Share the video on social media. The gang lined up to the right of a tee box on Wednesday. McIlroy hit. He started walking down the aisle.
They started their song.
He had, as they say, all the feelings. It seemed that there was no care, neither from the children, nor from the birthday boy who had been taking a lot of care lately. It was fun.
“happy birthday.
Happy birthday, dear Rory.
“happy birthday.”
He came to sing it. The video showed him shaking the hand of a girl holding a sign that read: “HBD Rory McIlroy.” “My dad is a huge fan,” she said. He thanked her and then asked her: What about you? Are you a fan of mine?” She smiled and nodded.
There were more. Considering everything lately for the man of the hour, that was fitting. Towards the end of the video, Optum added this line: “As an ambassador for Optum Health, Rory helps destigmatize mental health…with some helpful suggestions from his friends.”
Gave the kids some. It was awesome. It was light.
Think of the whole thing simply as a much-needed, refreshing cleanse for the palate, and we’ll leave it at that. McIlroy? He’s playing Wells Fargo every weekend. He is seven back from the lead.
Below is the video shared on Thursday. Ideas of boys and girls are even less.
Child 1: “My mental health advice for you guys at home is to get outside.”
Second child: “Play soccer.”
Third child: “Get lots of exercise.”
Fourth child: “I play with my friends.”
Child Five: “Play soccer.”
Six children: “Eat vegetables.”
Kid Seven: “Playing baseball.”
Eight-year-old: “Keep active and dance.”
Child Nine: “Playing golf.”
Child 10: “Play with my friends.”
Child 11: “I get more sleep every day.”
Child 12: “I play with my dog.”
Kid 13: “Go outside.”
Child 14: “I eat broccoli.”
Child 15: “Diary”.
Child 16: “Play basketball and go outside.”
Child 17: “Walk my dog.”
Child 18: “Being active through sports and having people around you who can lift you up.”
Child 19: “Hit golf balls in my backyard.”
Kid 20: “I play hockey every day.”
Kid 21: “Listen to the music.”
Child 22: “Spending time outside.”
Child 23: “Do enough exercise every day.”
Child 24: “Read every day.”
Kid 25: “I play baseball.”
Kid 26: “Eat broccoli and play baseball.”
Kid 27: “Play activities like baseball and basketball.”
Child 28: “Play with my dog.”