This week, before the sports world was turned on its head by the COVID-19 virus, Ron Green Jr. caught up with Rory McIlroy to discuss the tempestuous relationship he has had with Pete Dye golf courses, and how the world’s No.1-ranked player negotiated a peace with Pete’s diabolical designs. The story was relevant at the time and will be again. In the meantime, we present it as an illustration of just how quickly life as we know it can change.
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA | Rory McIlroy remembers when he agreed to a peaceful coexistence with Pete Dye-designed golf courses.
McIlroy turned up at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits, the fever-dream Dye design perched with all of its man-made bumps and rolls on the edge of Lake Michigan, and hated what he saw. Nothing about it appealed to McIlroy.
Pete Dye and Rory McIlroy talk during the pro-am at the 2012 BMW Championship at Crooked Stick Golf Club. Photo: Stan Badz, PGA Tour via Getty Images
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