Rory McIlroy believes last week’s controversial withdrawal from the Honda Classic could prove a blessing in disguise as he looks to play golf with a smile on his face once more.
McIlroy quit midway through his second round at PGA National, where he was the defending champion.
He initially told reporters he was in “a bad place mentally” and then issued a statement citing severe toothache as the reason for withdrawing.
The Manchester United fan admits that was still “no excuse” for quitting, referencing his side’s controversial Champions League exit to Real Madrid by joking: “I gave myself a red card last week!”
He says he lost control of rational thinking after a flurry of dropped shots and concedes his tooth problem was a flimsy reason for pulling out. However, he has promised to learn from his mistakes and to try not to put so much pressure on himself to perform well.
“I had a lot of time to think about it and realised pretty quickly it wasn’t the right thing to do,” McIlroy said at a pre-tournament press conference ahead of this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship in Miami.
“No matter how bad I was playing, I should have stayed out there. At that point in time I was all over the place and saw red. It was a mistake, everyone makes mistakes. I am learning from them.
“Some people have the pleasure, I guess, of making mistakes in private. Most of my mistakes are in the public eye. I regret what I did but it’s over now and it won’t happen again.
“I actually think in the long run, Friday will be a blessing in disguise. It was like it just relieved a valve and all that pressure I was putting on myself just went away.
“It’s not life or death out there it’s only a game and I had sort of forgotten that this year.”
Asked which reason for withdrawing was true, McIlroy added: “Both. I wasn’t in a good place. Mentally my head was all over the place but at the same time I have been struggling with my lower right wisdom tooth for over a year.
“I had braces on for six months last year to try to relieve some of the pressure on it. I am taking medication until I get home to Northern Ireland and see my dentist.”