The Links: Why it's so hard to be No. 1 like Rory McIlroy

Baby plays golf, great Jack Nicklaus story, Johnny Miller flip-flops, Hunter Mahan loses his clubs.

By Kyle Porter

Mar 5, 2013 at 3:58 am ET • 2 min read

The burden of being No. 1 like Rory McIlroy. (Getty Images) — After walking off the course last week, McIlroy has everyone guessing. (Getty Images)

Must Read

I would be remiss to not put Joe Posnanski's first Golf Channel column in this spot. The McIlroy narrative is already getting old, but this is really good:

I once asked Tom Watson how much different it was trying to become the best player in the world and trying to remain the best player in the world? He said he never thought of it that way. Then he said something quirky. He said that to be the best, you have to believe you are the best. And at the same time, he said, you can never believe you are the best. I said that those two beliefs contradict each other. He smiled and nodded. (Golf Channel)

PGA Tour

Pretty interesting theory here. Michael Thompson likes tough courses because he knows he doesn't have to make a lot of birdies. (GolfWeek)

Americans are perfect on the PGA Tour so far this year. (Yahoo)

I love that Rembert Browne posted all the lyrics to 2.Oh here. (Grantland)

John Hawkins with some interesting thoughts here on Camilo Villegas and David Duval. (Golf Channel)

I love Stewart Cink's quote here: "When I watch golf on Friday afternoon and I see guys coming down the stretch that are miles from making the cut and I see them grinding away and hitting good shots and making good putts and showing the crowd a little something, I feel proud for myself and for the rest of the players on the tour. And there’s a lot of that." (The New York Times)

Great look at what pace Tiger Woods needs to hold to catch Jack Nicklaus. They both won 14 of their first 60 majors. (ESPN)

Love this. Bombs of the week from the Honda Classic. (Golf Channel)

Night golf on Tiger Woods '14! (ESPN)

I'm getting tired of the Rory McIlroy/spotlight columns, but this is a good one from Jason Sobel. (Golf Channel)

Here's Mat Kearney talking about writing the new Golf Boys song. (ESPN)

Alan Shipnuck is not a Golf Boys fan. (Golf.com)

Great Jack Nicklaus story here. One that I hadn't heard before. (GolfWeek)

Augusta National sues man over sale of green jacket. (Golf.com)

International

And also a good roundup of the Rory McIlroy situation from Iain Carter. (BBC)

Not sure why we got this column on March 4, but it's a good one on last year's Ryder Cup. (GolfWeek)

Equipment/Travel

Haha, this is great. Tracking Johnny Miller's takes on the proposed anchored putter ban. (Geoff Shackelford)

Cobra offers a special "Season Opener Green" color in its driver? Awesome. (GolfDigest)

The European Tour supports whatever the USGA and R&A decide. (Geoff Shackelford)

Social

The Internet tells me #FTB means "feed the beast."

For every complex problem, there is a simple solution. #FTB
— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) March 5, 2013

Haha.

I am officially contemplating retirement after hearing my name is in the new golf boys song. "Made it Mom - top of the world ."
— Bo Van Pelt (@bovanpelt) March 4, 2013