After winning four PGA Tour events, including the PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy was named the PGA Tour Player of the Year. He topped both the European and United Stated money list, became world number one and helped the European Ryder Cup team win. There's no doubt he deserves the award, but how will he handle the pressure moving into the 2013 golf season?
One of the ways Rory will deal with the new pressure is with a lighter schedule. After missing the cut in Hong Kong, he vowed to cut back his 2013 schedule. He played 24 tournaments in 2012 (United States and Europe combined), along with 4 exhibitions and the Ryder Cup. Of course, in 2013, he won't be competing for the Ryder Cup, but golf fans may see him cut back to 16 or 18 tournaments for the entire year.
Many believe Rory is in a no-win situation because he's at the top of the golf world. It's hard to move forward once you're ranked number one in the world. Most likely, Rory will concentrate on winning majors and playing in the largest tournaments in 2013. There's no doubt he will split time between the European and United States tours, but we may see more of him stateside than we did in 2012.
A Recap of 2012
McIlroy finished third in the FedEx Cup standings and finished as the PGA Tour money leader with over $8 million in earnings. He was also the scoring average leaders with an average of 68.87. Rory finished in the top 10 more often than anybody else did. He finished second twice and won four tournaments. He also led the tour in back 9 scoring average for the year at 34.78.
These stats all added up to a magical year for Rory and a breakout season leading to the PGA Player of the Year and Vardon Trophy awards. These will be two of many projected awards for Rory and many believe a FedEx Cup is not far off. Of course, with the lighter schedule he plans to play in 2013, he will need high finishes to secure a top spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
It's fun to watch a player perform at their best and Rory graced golf fans with many great moments. Golfers will certainly make plenty of tee times to play golf in 2013 in between watching Rory compete in the major tournaments on the weekend. They might even imitate his swing and recreate some of the finer moments from Rory's short career, as they often do with some of the finer moment of Tiger Woods career.
While you probably won't get the pleasure of teeing it up with Rory, you can still enjoy some of the fine courses he plays. Using Golfzing, you can book a round at one of the better golf courses for a weekend round or a vacation. If you plan it just right, you can even take in a round at one of the many PGA Tour events Rory will play in 2013.
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