What a difference a year makes for Rory McIllroy

Rory McIllroy's first career title – and his last – were in Dubai, so a little reflection is in order, writes Steve Elling.

Rory McIroy of Northern Ireland plays with a ball during the final round of the WGC - HSBC Champions at the Sheshan International Golf Club last week in Shanghai, China. He is in Dubai this weekend. LShow more

For those who have forgotten how magnets work, Rory McIlroy is a walking, talking example.

One end attracts, the other end repels. Which also describes his past two seasons.

“It’s funny, it’s like polar opposites,” he said.

He has come back to the desert to defrost a season that can clearly use a thaw. And, point of fact, it has not been funny at all.

McIlroy was attempting to summarise the yin and yang of the past 12 months, dating to when he walked off the 18th green at Jumeirah Golf Estates last November having birdied five successive holes to claim the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai crowns.

He has not gone from first to worst, but two manifestly different seasons created learning curves with entirely different trajectories.

“I guess I learnt last year how to deal with the hype and people building you up,” he said. “This year I’ve learnt to deal with the criticism. Two opposite ends of the spectrum.”

After a five-victory season in which he was anointed the game’s boy king, he had all but abdicated before the first major of 2013 was played. The term “crowned” has a couple of definitions, after all.

Since he last played in Dubai, his many setbacks defy recitation. He began the year in Abu Dhabi, at a splashy Nike function, where he was introduced as the company’s newest pitch man.

Within days, his form was in decline. He missed the cut at Abu Dhabi, and in February he walked off the course during an awful round at the Honda Classic, citing problems with his wisdom teeth. The tone was set for the season.

His personal life and relationship with Caroline Wozniacki, the former tennis world No 1, has nearly become the stuff of prurient interest. Feeling under siege at midseason, he claimed he was “brain-dead”.

He sued his former manager, who counter-sued. He was sued by the sunglasses maker Oakley over an alleged contract violation. Not surprisingly, McIlroy said he has spent so much time around lawyers that he can almost speak Latin.

“I’ve got people who are dealing with that,” he said of the legalese. “But, again, it’s something that shouldn’t be in my mind. It’s something I don’t think any athlete or anyone should ever go through.

“I’ve seen more lawyers offices and lawyers this year than I care to see in my entire life.”

Coming off his career-defining 2012, McIlroy started the year a solid No 1, yet has stumbled to sixth, a fall that prompted a bit of sarcasm. “Yeah, dropped to sixth, I know, it’s terrible, really bad,” he said.

Point taken, but context adds clarity. If he ends the year at sixth, it would mark the biggest drop in a season for a healthy player who began the year at No 1 since the world rankings were first issued, in 1986. He has amassed the fewest world-ranking points of any player in the current top 25.

“It’s not the place that I want to be, but it’s not a disastrous year,” he said.

Actually, Dubai is the place he wants to be.

McIlroy won his first professional tournament in Dubai. The gleaming replica trophy from the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic sits in his Florida living room. His last win was here, too.

He has contended for the DP World title every year but one, and he finished second in Abu Dhabi in 2012, so the UAE has been good to him. He plans to return here around the new year to begin preparation for the 2014 season. “We spend a good two weeks working on my game, a bit of a mini boot camp,” he said.

McIlroy has begun creeping into contention with top-10 finishes in three of his past seven starts. Justin Rose, the US Open champion, played with McIlroy in China two weeks ago and believes the Northern Irishman is close to a breakthrough.

“Yeah, probably surprised that he hasn’t gotten it back by now,” Rose said. “But at the same time, it just shows you that none of us are immune to [needing] a balance in your life. It impacts your golf.

“It takes a lot to have everything in sync, and I think we should all take heed of that.”