"Rory is...on the brink of making a profoundly brave and inherently progressive political statement."

Conor Nagle posts a thoughtful analysis of Rory McIlroy's plight in light of history and comments made to the Daily Mail about which country the World No. 1 might represent if he qualifies for the 2016 Olympics.

In other words, in the wake of McIlroy's clarifying letter posted Monday, Nagle offers a pretty even-handed look at the minefield McIlroy must navigate.

He is part of the first generation to self-identify as Northern Irish (a trend touched upon in this recent feature) and, in demonstrating a willingness, however tentative, to chart a course independent of the ideologies that have determined life in the six counties for nigh-on a century, he’s emerged an improbable spokesperson for a nascent political, or “post-political”, identity.

Precariously balanced between two contrasting identities, McIlroy has repeatedly asserted his right to a third option: a Northern-ness that supersedes all else, of which being British is a logical consequence rather than a matter of faith.

Yes, he’s availed of opportunities afforded him as a teenager by the Golfing Union of Ireland, but the issue of national allegiance, when forced, will hardly be decided by so trivial a matter as junior funding.

Brian Keogh with extensive comments from Ireland's Des Smyth. The gist:

“I don’t see how we can lay claim to people from Northern Ireland,” said Smyth, a highly repected Irish player and one of Ian Woosnam’s Ryder Cup vice captains at the K Club in 2006. “They are part of the United Kingdom.

“Jimmy Heggarty was my travelling buddy on tour for many years. He was from Ulster, part of the United Kingdom and I never had a problem with that.

Rory appears to have been helped, at least temporarily, by Andy Murray's triumphant U.S. Open win. Still, the various UK papers reported on McIlory's letter in Tuesday's editions.

Kevin Garside in The Independent declared that McIlroy "should be celebrating the best form of his career" but "finds himself caught on the horns of an uncomfortable dilemma."

The Guardian's "staff and agencies" report suggested McIlroy's letter "hinted that he may choose to play for Great Britain" in Rio.

The Daily Mail says the Rory clarification letter was issued because McIlroy "suffered abuse from a significant number of his 1.25 million Twitter followers as well as criticism from established broadcasters on Irish TV."

In Ireland, Phillip Reid offers an interesting solution for McIlroy: take a pass on Rio 2016.

Give it a miss! Save yourself the trouble and strife of having to declare allegiance one way or another! Focus on the Majors; for, truly, they are the defining moments in any player’s career! Be yourself!

There. I’ve said it.

The pulling and dragging over McIlroy’s nationality or otherwise is most unseemly and something of an irrelevance given that virtually week-in and week-out he is playing very much as an individual.

If he were to bypass the Olympics, the kernel of this issue, it would certainly present an easier way out – and avoid the hassle – for the player, especially given the over-the-top response to the comment that he felt “more British than Irish”.

Rory Issues Open Letter On His "Cultural Identity"

Rory McIlroy, clearly hearing it from fans to the point he issues this letter today after his comments to the Daily Mail seemed to indicate he would represent Great Britain in the 2016 Rio Olympics if he qualifies.

The letter (click to enlarge):

Reset Cup: Rory Wins Again, Then Loses His Huge Playoff Lead

From Doug Ferguson's game story covering Rory McIlroy's impressive win over a star-studded leaderboard at Crooked Stick in the 2012 BMW Championship:

Any of the top 30 players who advanced to the Tour Championship have a mathematical shot at winning the $10 million prize.

McIlroy earned 2,500 points for winning the last two playoff events, each time 1250 more points than the second place finishers, giving him a commanding 3,232 point lead. Except that this is the Reset Cup, and now McIlroy holds a measly 250 point lead, allowing the other top five players a legitimate chance to win the vaunted trophy.

The full results here.

Mike McAllister tells us about the top 30 advancing. He explains the movement of several players near the bottom, a series of truly spellbinding moments in golf television history that NBC covered dutifully to keep Ponte Vedra happy. Even better for us viewers, allowed for perfect channel changing to NFL and U.S. Open tennis until the telecast returned to the superstars clogging up the leaderboard.

Sean Martin breaks down each of the top 30 to advance and earn exemptions into the first three 2013. Way to go John Huh, overcoming the Q-School baggage!

Jim McCabe on a how Hunter Mahan played himself into the Tour Championship without a top 10 since April and weekend rounds of 80-77. In his usual canded manner, Mahan reveals he's "out of gas," showing perhaps how hard he worked to find his game for the Ryder Cup. I mean The Playoffs.

The SI Confidential gang was very happy to see Phil Mickelson finish T2 and T4 in consecutive weeks just before the Ryder Cup.

ESPN's highlights:

Tiger And Rory Now Doing Joint Post-Round Interviews; Gym Sessions And Wine Country Weekends May Be Next

The signs have been there but longtime watchers of Tiger looked away: he's in love!

The Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy bromance went public Thursday at the BMW Championship when the two lovebirds gave a joint Golf Channel interview after an impressive scoring duel over Crooked Stick Golf Club.

Randell Mell writes:

“It's fun to play with him, and he's just an amazing talent,” Woods said. “You watch him swing the club and watch him putt and play, he doesn't have a lot of weaknesses. You can see that, in the next decade or so, as he really matures and understands some of the nuances of the game, he's only going to get better, and that's kind of fun to see.”

Huh? Lions don’t share their turf, do they?

Bob Harig also noted the burgeoning romance in his round one story.

They ate breakfast together Wednesday morning, bumped into each other in the media center after their pro-am rounds, managed to poke fun at one another, and were mostly all smiles during the first round of the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick. Afterward, they yukked it up together for a TV interview.

It helps when you are playing well, as both did on a warm, humid day with a water-softened course in the opening round of the third of four FedEx playoff events.

Accompanying Harig's story is a revealing image from Getty's Scott Halleran (right).

Look at how those two gaze at each other!

Let's be frank here. Tiger does not like anyone who is a threat to his game, holds grudges and it's one of the reasons we respect him. Unlike some of his peers, who are gentlemen to the point that they will never achieve greatness, Tiger wants to win and win big. Anyone who gets in the way is the enemy, just as was the case for all-time great predecessors like Ben Hogan. (I know it's hard to believe, but by all accounts the Hawk could be a real beauty when the gates opened.)

But now as Tiger gets older and much, much shorter off the tee, he has become openly smitten with young Rory, cooing over "the kid" in a joint post round interview with Steve Sands, viewable in Golf Channel's first round highlight package. 

I, not normally a cynic, have a few theories on why Tiger has taken such a liking to someone who so clearly stands in the way of reaching the much-vaunted goal of 19 majors.

• Rory is about to sign with agent Steiny (example: Stricks, Kooch...Rors next?)

• Rory mentioned that he saw the aerial videos and might be interested in buying Privacy for him and Caroline. To which Tiger, tired of the $1 million in annual upkeep, realized he's found a sucker buyer he needs to be nice to.

• Rory wondered out loud about playing at Sherwood in December and Tiger is trying his best to lure a box office draw to help save the sponsor-less event he hosts to help fund his foundation.

• Rory is about to sign with Nike (rumored but doubtful since this could eat into how much Nike pays and markets Tiger).

• Rory heard Tiger knows a lot about designing courses, wants to learn from Tiger and Tiger doesn't want to tell Rory the bad news that even the purveyor of a lowly golf blog has more design credits to his name than Tiger.

Or maybe Tiger is just setting the lad up, only to go all gamesmanshippy and glaring-stare Tiger when they meet in Sunday singles at the Ryder Cup?

I hope it's that. Because if this Mutual Admiration Society stuff goes on much longer...

The lovefest continues Friday at 9:39 a.m. ET with Golf Channel coverage at 3 p.m. ET.

**This from Golf Channel: Golf Channel will now air the second round coverage LIVE from 11:30am - 3:00pm. There will be a taped re-air immediately following the live telecast on Golf Channel from approx. 3:00-6:00pm.

Rory Takes Big Chunks Out Of TPC Boston En Route To Deutsche Bank Win

Doug Ferguson on another startling win by Rory McIlroy, this time with two huge final day chunks en route to a probable player-of-the-year clinching win over a stellar field.

Boy Wonder didn't make it easy on himself at the TPC Boston. He tore up the turf on a tee shot that traveled 170 yards, and that was the only fairway he hit over the last five holes.

He had to make a 6-foot putt to save par from a bunker, and a 5-foot putt to save bogey after a pitch sailed from one side of the green to the other. And he had to wait as Louis Oosthuizen's birdie putt to force a playoff slid below the hole.

"I had a couple of wobbles coming in, but I obviously did enough and I'm very excited to get a victory," McIlroy said.

Stunningly, the highlights did not include any of the wobbly shots or the super NBC analysis of them, so I've miniaturized the highlight package to celebrate the PGATour.com's move away from YouTube because, well, why would you want to reach a mass audience? You can put your ads on there too Tim!

On second thought, here is Golf Channel's exhaustive recap.

They Don't Call 'Emselves Wozzilroy For Nothin!

I'm all for Caroline Wozniacki hopping up to Boston after her first round loss in the U.S. Open and I'm sure no one minds seeing her walking inside the ropes during pro-am play clad in skin tight pants, all the while telling Sirius/XM's Doug Bell that the walking makes her gluteous hurt.

But I guess no one had the heart to tell Sweet Caroline that the Deutsche Bank Championship tee markers are for branding, not sitting? Especially while your man is competing? I know it's a pro-am but still...

And in case you think this is a swing drill to ensure Rory doesn't take it too far inside, here's the video:

Gosh I can't wait to see where Caroline goes during the Ryder Cup!

"The debate about Rory and the Olympics, however, refuses to wither."

I'm already sick of this debate and I'm not Irish, British or the least bit worried that Rory McIlroy will figure it out by 2016, but Oliver Brown delves into the question that continues to hound the PGA Champion: which country's bad uniforms will he wear in 2016?

It is regrettable that McIlroy should be facing such a dilemma, when his second major title at the US PGA is a cause for jubilation on both sides of the Irish border. And yet he is under pressure to declare his hand for the Rio Olympics because he is Catholic. His great friend and compatriot, Graeme McDowell, is spared the same predicament as a Protestant, since it is widely expected that he will compete for Britain.

But Northern Irish Catholics tend, as boxing medallists Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan showed at London 2012, to align themselves with the Republic. Representing Britain would, at one time, have been deemed perfidious, equivalent to backing a state that they perceived as oppressive.

Rory-Faced Biscuits A Hot Item Again

I bet Tiger never had his face put on a biscuit.

Just wish we could see them better in the photo The photo accompanying this Anna Maguire Belfast Telegraph story also includes a photo gallery.*

Within three hours of going on sale, 300 German biscuits carrying the face of Rory McIlroy had disappeared from the shelves of Skinner’s Bakery.

By noon on Monday, workers at the Holywood bakery were frantically preparing another batch.

“It’s because he’s a Holywood boy,” was how co-owner Valerie Skinner explained the success of their best-selling product.

“My husband (and bakery co-owner) Wilson had the idea of making the biscuits when we were watching Rory win the US Open Championship last year. We sold thousands of the biscuits then.

Rory On Morning Drive: Confirms He Overslept Between Rounds

It must be nice to be sitting on a PGA Championship lead and be able to sleep so soundly that someone has to wake you up. From his Morning Drive call-in:

Rory Romps Roundup: 2012 PGA Clippings

First, the game stories after a stunning weekend performance by Rory McIlroy in winning the 2012 PGA Championship.

LEDES

Doug Ferguson, AP:

  Rory McIlroy dressed the part as golf's next star and played like it, too.

Steve DiMeglio for USA Today, working in a little love for the logistics:

 Much like the daily slog to and from this barrier island, Rory McIlroy's road back to major championship glory was chock-full of congestion.

James Corrigan plays off the Olympics for his Telegraph lede:

This was Rory McIlroy’s own closing ceremony, a procession lit up with fireworks and sheer brilliance.

Derek Lawrenson for the Daily Mail:

Turn up in a shirt of Tiger red on the final day of a major, and you better be able to walk the walk. Fortunately, Rory McIlroy was more than up to the task on Sunday, marching proudly to his second major victory with a flawless performance at the USPGA Championship.   

Ewan Murray for The Guardian:

There can be few things in sport more delightful than emulating the performance of your boyhood idol. Rory McIlroy, throughout his youth, was in awe of Tiger Woods. Here the Northern Irishman claimed the 94th US PGA Championship, the second major of his career, with the kind of Sunday front-running which was once the forte of Woods.

Paul Mahoney gets right to the point for The Independent:

Rory McIlroy wore red yesterday and channelled Tiger Woods circa 2000 to win the 94th US PGA Championship by eight shots with a score of 13 under par.

Bill Pennington takes us back to Augusta for his New York Times lede:

The birth of a champion, and maybe golf’s next dominant player, was dispiriting, humiliating defeat. Put Rory McIlroy back in the woods of the 10th hole at the 2011 Masters as he whacked his ball from tree to tree, a boy lost in the forest on his way to a mortifying fall from the summit of the leader board.

Simon Evans for Reuters:

Rory McIlroy brushed aside any lingering doubts over his ability to be a dominant force in golf by storming to a second major title with a stunning eight-shot victory at the PGA Championship on Sunday.

STUFF

Golf Channel's highlight package.

The Champion's post round interview transcript.

The final scores and purse disbursal.

All of the final round player interview transcripts at PGA.com.

SI/golf.com's post round Confidential.

RORY ANALYSIS

Dave Kindred says Rory announced his greatness with his drives.

A rocket. Rising toward the clouds. A draw to a fairway turning left. In the air forever, then running out down a slope. It was as if God Herself had said, "Let there be Rory and let him move men, women, and children to stand in awe of his work." Let's say the shot covered 340 yards. What happened next was nice -- up and down from a wasteland for birdie -- but it was that divinely beautiful drive that reminded us all we had been witness to McIlroy's arrival at greatness.

Gene Wojciechowski on the win and also the whole red shirt thing.

He wore a red shirt, just like Woods does on Sundays. He embraced his father, just like Woods used to do with his dad Earl. He had a flair for the dramatic, sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on his final hole, just the sort of thing Woods would do when winning a major.

Full disclosure: McIlroy said he wouldn't have worn the Tiger Red had he been paired with Woods.

"Might have to do it from now on," McIlroy said. "No wonder he wins so much."

Jason Sobel says comparisons to Tiger are unfair for reasons he mentions. He also quotes some of Rory's peers.

Even the way McIlroy’s peers discussed the performance in wide-eyed awe and effusive praise was reminiscent of how Woods’ fellow competitors have often discussed his achievements after a major win.

Ian Poulter: “Everybody should take note. The guy's pretty good.”

Carl Pettersson: “He was just better than everybody -- and it was clear to everybody, I think.”

Graeme McDowell: “His score speaks for itself. He's a hell of a talented player.”

Padraig Harrington was even more blunt, reports Brian Keogh.

“Rory is showing that with his A Game, everybody else is going to struggle to compete with him, and Tiger needs his A Game to come up against Rory. He’s not going to beat him unless he has a big weekend.  

Keogh on Tiger's admission that Rory's pretty good.

"He’s very good,” he said. “We all know the talent he has. He went through a little spell this year, and I think that was good for him. We all go through those spells in our careers, and you know, he’s got all the talent in the world to do what he’s doing. And this is the way that Rory can play. When he gets it going, it’s pretty impressive to watch.”

Keeping it going is McIlroy’s next task. Like the loyal Nike man he is, Woods revealed how it works.

“You just do it.”

Randall Mell on how Rory credited short game coach Dave Stockton.

Golfweek's Sean Martin with more on the Stockton advice.

His mid-summer slump also had impacted his demeanor, so much so that putting instructor Dave Stockton told McIlroy to play with a smile this week, a tip it seemed McIlroy would never need. There was plenty for him to enjoy about an Ocean Course that so suited his strengths.

Elevated greens forced players to hoist the ball skyward on approach shots, even when the Ocean Course’s strong winds would usually call for a lower trajectory. No one hits it high, especially with the long clubs, better than McIlroy. It’s no coincidence he’s dominated two majors at softer-than-standard layouts. Soft conditions allowed him to be aggressive with every club in his bag.

Gary Van Sickle on what the win means.

McIlroy is now ahead of the major pace of Woods. McIlroy turned 23 three months ago; Woods won his second major, the 1999 PGA at Medinah, when he was 23 years, 7 months old.

Ahead of Tiger's pace, behind Tiger's pace -- it doesn't really matter. Tiger's run, which led to 14 majors, was so remarkable that it's amazing to even be on a similar trajectory. This is the dawn of a great opportunity for McIlroy, and he will fuel our golf conversations until we return to Augusta National next April.

A European Tour story talks to a few writers about where Rory's second major win fits with other great triumphs and legends.

THE RUNNER-UP

An unbylined AP story on runner-up David Lynn.

An unbylined Sky Sports story on Lynn, who is in next year's Masters now.

"It's a little bit surreal right now," said Lynn, whose only win came in the 2004 Dutch Open. "I've never been exempt to play in anything in America, so that's the reason why I've never been over here. This is a good start.

"To come and perform the way I have this week in a major is very special and a great achievement. It has not sunk in properly yet to be honest.

"The Masters is just a dream come true, obviously - amazing. Seeing Augusta as many times as I have, it's like I know the place and I've never even been there.

COURSE

Rex Hoggard says the setup was weak.

Not once during the 94^th PGA Championship did officials move to the forward tees on the par-4 12^th or 13^th holes. Both holes were pegged as potential risk/reward holes but played well over 400 yards every day.

Nor did the PGA of America show much variety at the par-3 17^th hole, which played 229, 217, 219 and 233 yards for Rounds 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. In fact, the total yardage for the Ocean Course, at 7,668 yards the longest in major championship history, varied just 200 yards throughout the week.

IMAGES

GolfChannel.com's image gallery kicks off with a classic Rickie impersonator.

Golfweek.com's image gallery.

golf.com's gallery is nice and big and features the work of SI's crew.

TELEVISION

Martin Kaufman sticks to mostly compliments for the hard-working technical team that caught some key sights and sounds in between the commercial breaks. 

TWEETS

Rory's thank-you Tweet.

David Feherty is still on the high that he exuded during the telecast, and is also happy about the end of the Olympics.

Luke Donald is happy to be off Kiawah Island, agent Chubby Chandler wants more restaurants before they host another major (oh the problems!), Luke would just like another road.

Webb Simpson said the Pettersson penalty was another example of a golf rule that doesn't make sense.

And the final word goes to the Ancient Twitterer.

Rory: "The technology lets maybe some of the lesser players catch up with the better players."

Ewan Murray reports Rory McIlroy's comments on the eve of Glory's Visit To Kiawah:

McIlroy, whose honesty in public is one of his most endearing qualities, said: "I'm just happy to be part of that group of 16. I think the reason it is like this, fields are much deeper. Partly because the guys have just got better and have worked hard; they are putting more into the game physically, mentally, practice, technical, everything.

"But I think one of the big things is the technology. I think 25 years ago you had the really good players that could play with basically anything and nowadays the technology lets maybe some of the lesser players catch up with the better players. And I think that's why you see so many more guys winning these days."

The comments pick up where Ernie Els left off a few weeks ago.  It might also be a nice time to read the Joint Statement of Principles, where the skill component is key to action by the governing bodies. At least, according to the Statement:

While generally welcoming this progress, the R&A and the USGA will remain vigilant when considering equipment Rules. The purpose of the Rules is to protect golf's best traditions, to prevent an over-reliance on technological advances rather than skill, and to ensure that skill is the dominant element of success throughout the game.