Rory McIlroy insists he is thinking bigger picture and won’t let the disappointment of losing last month’s US Open Championship down the closing stretch take away from how well he has been playing this season.
McIlroy has won three times this season across the DP World and PGA Tours taking his tally of professional victories to 40, but his major total has remained at four since 2014 and next week’s Open Championship remains his last chance to avoid entering an eleventh year without one of golf’s big four titles.
The Holywood native bogeyed three of his last four holes at Pinehurst no.2 last month to allow Bryson DeChambeau to pinch the title from his grasp and he had not hit a competitive shot since until Thursday morning at the Genesis Scottish Open where he opened with a 65 to continue the vein of form he had been showing in the lead up to the US Open.
“I’m not going to let three or four holes cloud my judgment in terms of how good I’m playing,” said a defiant McIlroy. “I knew to play the golf that I did the whole way through June, it wasn’t just the U.S. Open. I played well at the Canadian Open and at Memorial before that even and PGA and Quail Hollow. My game has been in good shape and it was in good shape coming in here.
“It’s just a matter of going out there and focusing on the task at hand and not letting your mind wander too much. I felt like I did a good job of that today.”
The 35-year-old has become something of an enigmatic character over the last decade, often bouncing back immediately from setbacks and disappointments.
Although he left Pinehurst straight after DeChambeau won and hadn’t been until this week, McIlroy is not shying away from owning up to his latest major championship disappointment.
“I’ve always liked to figure things out myself. I’m not really one to reach out for advice. Not to say that there was a lot of unsolicited advice coming my way but yeah, I’ve always tried to figure things out myself.
“Because then for me, I’ve always wanted to own it. I’ve always wanted to own my success and my disappointments, and I think figuring it out yourself and giving yourself that time is a good thing.”
The Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club attracts a clutter of the world’s best players to fine tune their links game ahead of the Open and this week is no different with six of the top-10 ranked players in the field ahead of next week’s 152nd Open at Royal Troon.
“Just familiarising myself with a links golf again,” added McIlroy. “First time I’ve played a links course since Hoylake last year, I guess. Getting back into how the wind feels. How the club feels through the turf. All that stuff.
“So that’s why obviously I wanted to play this week. It’s a good reintroduction to links golf. But obviously with a great opportunity to win another opportunity as well.”
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