Rory McIlroy’s dominance is a bit understated. Probably, because he had competed with one of the greats of the game—Tiger Woods. But the Northern Irish golfer is no slouch, having the most PGA Tour wins amongst all active players—barring Tiger Woods—with 27 victories. This is a mind-blowing stat considering he started his career on the European Tour (or the DP World Tour as it is now called).

And over time, he has garnered a bit of a reputation as a big-game player. McIlroy tends to outperform in big events. Of the 27 victories, only 11 are from standard tournaments. The rest are heavy-hitting events. Four majors, 6 FedEx Cup Playoff Events, 3 World Golf Championships, 2 Signature events, and 1 victory at the PLAYERS Championship. For McIlroy, the lights are never too bright.

At 35, his game is still in its prime phase, which means a whole lot of victories are yet to be achieved. McIlroy came into the PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra with the sole intention of adding to his silverware. He seemed to be heading in the right direction, and at one stage during round 2, the 2011 US Open winner was leading the pack with a score of 11 under par. However, two bogeys to finish the round pushed back down to T4—2 strokes off the lead.

Rex Hoggard and Ryan Lavner of the Golf Channel got together and analyzed McIlroy’s game in a bid to understand what goes inside the golfer’s mind. Bar the two bogeys, McIlroy was heading towards the end of the day with good momentum. This could have been key for him on day 3, as he would be playing with more confidence. However, it was not to be as Ryan Lavner mentioned, “Two bogeys in his last four holes sort of soured what was an otherwise pretty exciting day of golf.”

But barring the anomaly at the end of the day, McIlroy was finding it easy to navigate what was otherwise a tricky TPC Sawgrass. He forsook his normal aggressive approach and went for a more strategic attack on the golf course. McIlroy only ranked 20 in Strokes gained off the Tee and 30 in Driving Distance. He was 1 in both categories at the Genesis Invitational as well as the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

It is clear that he is keeping his aggression in check because of the challenges the Stadium Course poses, Rex Hoggard feels that this is the right way to do it. “Keep leaning on that shot off the tee ball that I talked about because the idea is and I think Jordan Speith did a really good job of addressing this yesterday. This golf course almost goads you into being aggressive. This golf course goads you into maybe taking chances that you shouldn’t do otherwise.”

And that is it at the PLAYERS. It is a mental battle, one that Rory McIlroy seems to understand from the start. That’s what differentiates experiences and talent. The four-time major winner has power at his disposal. He has the 6 longest drive of the tournament. But when he chooses to use it is really key. “I’m really taken by the idea that Rory seems content. And again, this is all relative he’s hitting that soft fade 300 plus yards. So it’s not as though he’s way back on this.”

The famed Island Green on Hole 17 is a prime example of how treacherous this golf course can be. Many great professionals have found themselves stumbling at the hurdles the holes pose and it is more of a battle of the mind rather than of physical ability.“This golf course kind of convinces you that, ‘yes I can pull off this shot. Sure, I mean it’s a hanging lie, it’s in the rough, it’s 290 yards there’s water all down the right but why not. I feel like I can do it,’ and Rory hasn’t fallen in that trap yet.” Considering his incident with an amateur golfer on Tuesday, many would have expected McIlroy to lose the mental battle.

Rory McIlroy’s surprising response to a heckler

During the practice round, Rory McIlroy was at the 18th hole. Luke Potter, an amateur golfer from the University of Texas, was there as well. When McIlroy hit his first tee shot, it landed in the water. Potter, in a moment of less forethought, shouted “Just like the 2011 Masters”, referencing the infamous bottlejob from the Northern Irish golfer’s side.

McIlroy hit his next shot, walked over to Potter, and asked him if he could see Potter’s phone for a moment. He proceeded to take it and left the scene abruptly, leaving a stunned Potter behind. “Look, I just made a mistake, and I take ownership for it. I apologize for it. That’s about all that needs to be said. … It’s just a good learning experience. Yeah, I apologize, ” Potter told GolfChannel.com by phone. Potter had to write apology letters to McIlroy, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan, PGA Tour University director Brendan von Doehren, and UNF coach Scott Schroeder—before he was given his phone back later.

McIlroy offered no comment to the incident when asked about it after day 1 proceedings at the TPC Sawgrass. He was more focused on the task at hand rather than dwell on past occurrences. Do you think McIlroy can stand the rigorous mental battle for two more days and come out on top at the TPC Sawgrass?