Today’s generation may not be aware of the masterpiece that Oscar Wilde wrote in ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, A satirical take on the manners and conventions of British society. Reproducing it then in this age of sequels, for Gen Z and Gen Alpha in view of their Insta and Social Media conventions, would be a super hit show playing out at the Delhi Golf Club called ‘The importance of being Rory!
The central character in play here is World No.2 from Northern Ireland — Mr Rory McIlroy. A modern-day golfing legend, who, after arriving in a land where the sport of golf is still popularised by cricketers, promptly spoke about his own passion to see the upcoming Ashes series to create the right kind of buzz in the media. So then, just how many will eventually turn up on a working day to watch the sport of business and elitist people?
It’s 7 am, and the parking shuttle service from the nearby National Zoological Park, near Sundar Nagar, is waiting for some customers to roar into action. “So far, it’s just 11 people, wondering if the Rory magic will work,” says the coordinator while signalling the shuttle to take us to the destination. The script is right there unfolding in my mind through that little over 5-minute drive when you realise that the shuttle service is just for the conservationist and law-abiding citizen.
There is a long queue of cars parked with their drivers sitting inside and occupying one lane of the road, knowing their owners are not coming back to pick them up anytime soon. Suddenly, there are plenty of people who are waiting eagerly for Rory to show his magic. Parking inside the DGC is only for the privileged, but the real privilege is to watch Rory in action.
The ‘Importance of being Rory’ is just getting started.
It’s 7.15 am and around 1000 people are surrounding the putting green where Rory is warming up and cheering him up. A soft smile from Rory merely piques the interest of the public. Despite a stunning F1 car on Tee 1 and a public grandstand, the crowd is determined and anxious to move to Tee Box 10. That is where everyone wants to be, a white little renovated tomb in the background and that man in a light blue T-shirt and steel grey trousers with a white cap getting ready for his India debut. The place is packed with people holding phones in hand to record his tee-off, dissect his swing or to simply upload their reel. And then there was I, trying to put it all down in words the old-fashioned way.
And the rest of the golf course, as anyone can notice, was spectacularly empty. Rory began with a birdie on the 10th with a fantastic chip-in. Watching Rory on a guided tour is a story to be told, but then watching golf is tiring. Walking all along — I clocked 14,076 steps, and I didn’t walk from tee to green like Rory, but rather kept my sight on him from a distance and navigated a few shortcuts.
The chatter was all about how he would choose a 3-wood or an iron on the 11th green, though from the applause, one can never make it if it was indeed a good shot or an average, because “Rory can’t play a bad shot”, as one corporate honcho declared, in the midst of a walking golf meeting with his colleague, interspersed with business conversations, his own golf itinerary and of course, raving about Rory.
Ewww….Rory had just bogied the 11th, missing a simple putt, but then the DGC is an unforgiving course. But even then, it is Rory we are talking about.
Watching the 5ft 9 in Rory was pleasing without iron fences and just standing near the white rope to segregate the playing area. He stood there, just 5 metres away, discussing with his caddie on his next move – the entire experience of a sports fan was just rewritten. And most importantly, being politely told by a muscular, heavily tattooed European security man that “you can’t be here, sir, please walk away to the other side and enjoy your golf.” We are just not used to this. Delhi is used to the typical khakiwallah, who doesn’t care ‘ki Mera baap kaun hai’ and shoo you away by showing the fear of a lathi.
By this time, Rory was 1 over, bogied again on Par 3 12th, and the rising sun had started to test quite a few who had filled in their Insta reels and WhatsApp DPs by then. “It’s a dog left to the right, and the pin is to the left, so it should be a low shot,” one tried to make sense of the disbelief amongst the crowd. “He must have played a wedge, 60 degrees, that’s why no rollback. The greens are moving very fast…it’s 12 today, usually it’s just 8-9.”
This conversation is happening on the 15th, and to most, it is not making any sense at all. But that’s the lingo of a golf enthusiast. And yes, an interesting stat on the sideline. It is for the first time ever that Rory didn’t bring his driver to the course! (Golfers walk the course, but this driver here is referred to as the biggest club in the golf kit!). Golf lingo you see… You can go back after watching golf, but the words will keep haunting you longer.
Yes, there were Indian players –Shubhakar was one group ahead, but just like Thala in CSK, everyone cheers for you but celebrates you getting out of the way for them to watch their hero in action — in this case Rory.
Meanwhile, the Big Dawg — nicknamed because he keeps a dog soft toy as a symbolic headcover on his golf kit– and his entourage have held up play because the 14th and 16th tee boxes on the iconic DGC design and intertwined. “It’s ok mate…as long as the refs understand that (and note our delay). We know people have paid to watch Rory,” says one player.
It’s Rs 865 plus taxes for a day of viewing, and a whopping Rs 87,500 plus for hospitality, but that one also gives you plenty of ‘deliverables’. Unlike cricket, there are no free passes and tickets are sold out. DGC can’t hold people any longer but the demand is still surging.
For some, it was an education. For some, it was an experience. But for everyone, it was exhilarating to watch Rory in flesh and blood, manage his birdies and bogeys with amazing calmness. We know what Virat means when he comes to play even domestic cricket after a decade. We know what it means to welcome Usain Bolt and Messi to India. But Rory?
He had just given a glimpse of his silent stardom. Meanwhile, on the course, Rory makes a strong comeback and scores six birdies against his 3 bogeys to register 3-under for the day. Tommy Fleetwood, another big star on the golf circuit, shot one better with a four under, while Rory, another Ryder Cup teammate, Shane Lowry took the honours with 6-under, shooting 64 on the first day.
And if you are still reading this last line of the copy, chances are high that you will be in that shuttle from the zoo to DGC tomorrow. Rory in action again, this time from Tee 1 at 12 noon. And the story of ‘The importance of Rory’ has come to a fascinating and successful end on Day 1. Rory is important to Indian golf as well. You can see that uptick that everyone hoped for.
