McIlroy impressed with spirit of Haiti
BETHESDA, Md.
Rory McIlroy only thought he knew what it was like to have the roof cave in. He was visibly shaken and distraught when his game imploded on the back nine of the Masters on Sunday and his lead crumbled in front of millions of people. But then he went to Haiti last week.
"The thing that I remember is driving past the presidential palace and the dome on the top of it is just, just hanging off. It's just a mess," McIlroy said yesterday at Congressional Country Club, two days before the start of his first major after his worst major. "I was just thinking to myself, if they can't even repair the presidential palace, then they can't do anything. They just need so much help."
Help is why he went, lending whatever moral support he could generate on behalf of UNICEF. McIlroy saw people who have no paved roads or streetlights, and might not have them for the next 15 to 20 years. He saw people living in tents. He played soccer with children who had no idea that he is a 22-year-old golf prodigy from Northern Ireland, youngsters who could not care less that he hooked his drive terribly on No. 10 at Augusta National and was near tears three holes later.
McIlroy handled the heartbreak with class that day in April, and ever since, which was duly noted. "He's a guy who gets over things very quickly," said his friend Charl Schwartzel, who won the Masters that McIlroy lost. "We spend time together. I think we're both very professional about it. It could have gone either way. It could have been either of us, really."
The conciliation was fine, but it wasn't a true measuring stick. "Yeah, I thought I had perspective before going to Haiti," McIlroy said Tuesday. "Then actually seeing it, it just gives you a completely different view on the world and the game that you play."
He was sitting behind a microphone in a huge, well lighted interview room, at a table with a bottle of chilled water sitting in front of him. "It makes you feel so lucky to be able to sit here and drink a bottle of water, just the normal things that everyone does, that you take for granted.
"The spirit of the children -- I mean, children are so resilient. It was almost as if they were oblivious to what was around them. Once they went in the school, they were happy. They were singing songs, they were getting educated about simple hygiene, sanitation. There was a huge outbreak of cholera a couple of months ago down there. It's almost as if the children go back home and educate the parents. They have to say to the parents, 'No, we have to wash our hands . . . ' "
Although he still is young enough to relate to kids, McIlroy considered himself educated. There is no telling if the UNICEF trip will make him a better golfer, a more mature player capable of winning on Sunday at a major. But it did open the eyes of a gifted and rich young man whose endorsements include the same high-end watch company that has an endorsement deal with LeBron James (the golfer and basketball player exchanged texts this week about disappointment).
It sounds like the experience in Haiti will stay with McIlroy as he settles into his lavish estate in his home country. It seems like the fellow who lost his game down the stretch at Augusta has found a calling. "Walking into a school in Haiti last week and seeing the faces light up . . . It's a pretty cool feeling to be able to fill a child with a little bit of hope or joy for a couple of hours," he said.
McIlroy joked about his graciousness on Sunday evening at Augusta: "I had five or six holes to think about what I was going to say, so I was pretty prepared."
After last week, it seems like he is better prepared for the rest of his life.
