Are Ryo Ishikawa and Rory McIlroy on the Verge of Burnout?
by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 7, 2009 2:50 PM EST
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PrintRyo Ishikawa and Rory McIlroy have had tremendous seasons respectively.
McIlroy entered the Dubai World Championship with a great chance to become the youngest player to win the European Tour's money list title - supplanting Seve Ballesteros in 1976. Ultimately, Lee Westwood's amazing four days at the Dubai closer ended that dream.
For Ryo Ishikawa, though, he finished his season in Japan as the money list winner. At 18, he becomes the youngest player ever to lead a major tour's money list at the end of the year.
As pointed out by Golf Digest today, Ishikawa finished the season by playing for sixteen consecutive weeks - including the Presidents Cup and HSBC Champions. He played 22 or 24 Japan Pro Golf Tour events. One that he skipped was his own tournament so that he could play in the newly crowned HSBC.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy was all set to play in the uber-rich Nedbank Challenge in South Africa this weekend. But he withdrew due to sickness after the second round. The culprit was a stomach bug that Irish Golf Desk says was acquired at the World Cup in China.
For all of the appearances that these two young players are making around the world, it may be time to step back and worry about burnout. Typically, the best players in the world play between 20 and 24 times per year. There's nothing wrong with the volume for either player. The problem lies in that the tournaments are either continents apart in terms of mileage, or are too packed together. While Ishikawa and McIlroy have that young gusto that lets people my age drink for days without stopping, the combination of pressure and travel probably create a lot of fatigue for these guys.
There is a lot of demand for both players at tournaments around the world because of their success. Hopefully, they can figure out a schedule that doesn't force them to play for four months in a row or faint at inopportune times.
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Burnout?
I’ve got underware older than these two put together…. I know professional golf isn’t easy, but it’s not like they’re running a marathon every weekend. Remember when Chris Riley couldn’t play two matches in one day at the Ryder Cup? Amazing…
I have to admit, you’re getting better at chooseing your text for maximum hype.
Ishikawa plays 22 of 24 weeks, 16 consecutive – granted, almost all of them were in a country smaller than California, but that’s a lot of tournament golf. Being tired isn’t the same as being burned out.
Come on – a stomach flu is “burnout” now ?
Will we be able to re-write history and say that Michelle Wie’s wrists and heat stroke were “burn out” ? How about the last 2 seasons for Paula Creamer with her wrist and stomach problems ?
"this ball will fit in that fairway"
Actually, McIlroy passed out a tournament earlier this year and had some serious health issues a couple of years ago, too. So this isn’t the first sign. (Read the Irish Golf Desk article.)
I think tired can lead to burn out – hence “verge.” I don’t think that they’re burnt out, but I think it’s totally possible they could be.
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by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 7, 2009 3:21 PM EST up reply actions
McIlroy doesn’t listen to his management. Chandler told him to not play the PGA Tour next year. JM Singh convinced Rory otherwise.
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by Ryan Ballengee on Dec 7, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions
I wonder if the life of a tour pro is significantly more hectic now than it was, say, 20, 30, 40 years ago.
Certainly, travel is travel and they’re living out of suitcases and in hotels regardless of era. Gary Player’s travel was legendary, but it seems like travel in that era was mostly within whichever continent a player played in primarily (though, before there was real money in it, there was a lot more driving between tournaments which had to be a real drain).
Now, they’re playing all over the world, meaning longer travel and much different time zones (a couple of hours difference can’t be nearly as taxing as 15 hours difference).
And that’s just the golf. It seems like more guys are getting into course design, especially in markets where golf hasn’t saturated the market as much, like Asia. They’re also traveling a lot for appearances. They have a lot of side businesses going.
Of course, it’s all self-imposed, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t take a toll. I kind of wonder when/if quality of play becomes a factor for some of the ones that are stretched a little thin.
Yeah, It's hard to feel
sorry for these guys and their “burnout”. I work out of my house and am 1 mile from my club……You want to talk about burnout………:)
Yeah
I used to jog, but the Ice kept falling out of my cocktail. jes sayin ;o)
"pain is only weakness leaving the body"
I don’t know either of these players very well, but I do believe there are some players who actually thrive on busy schedules and dashing around the world…and these two guys, being as young and as talented as they are could fit that bill.
The one thing I’ve observed about “the younger generation” is most of them seem to do what they want to do whenever they want to do it – so unless there is sponsor obligations, I would think if they were feeling “burnt out”, they’d be just fine with taking a rest.
I would guess the biggest influence in the drive to potential burnout is the almighty dollar, and who knows, maybe the pay off is worth it.
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