Rory McIlroy insists his sole focus is on his golf game after revealing he took the conscious decision to refrain from getting embroiled in any LIV debates recently having grown fatigued.
Over the last 18 months McIlroy has become the spokesperson for the PGA Tour in the face of the LIV threat but at times this year he took a more abrupt approach before pulling out of pre tournament press conferences at the US Open and this week’s 151st Open Championship believing he was wasting too much energy in the lead up to golf tournaments.
“I think just the more I can focus on golf and I can focus my energy into the things I can focus on, that’s my goal. I have done enough of the talking over the last 12 or 18 months,” said McIlroy.
“I am not saying that other people should sort of fill my place, I think for me we are all golfers and we are here to do a job which is to try and play the best golf we possibly can. I did thrive a little bit in that environment last year but at this point I just fatigued of it and I just want to get back to being a golfer and I made that decision recently, maybe over the past three or four months and it has definitely helped focus on things that are important and the things that make me happy.”
McIlroy earned his first win of 2023 last week at the Genesis Scottish Open thanks to two fabulous closing birdies which he feels is vindication for all the good golf he has played this year despite not quite getting over the line as often as he would like.
“I certainly feel like the win last week was validation for the good stuff I have been doing over the last couple of months. I have had some great chances to win tournaments recently, last group at the Memorial, obviously the US Open, Canadian Open, Travelers either side of the US Open I played verry well but just without getting over the finish line. I think getting over the finish line was one thing last week but just the manner in which I did it. That obviously gives me a lot of confidence going into this week.”
There is of course pressure on the four-time major winner who is the defending course champion having won the Open Championship at Hoylake in 2014. He would win the PGA Championship a month later but amazingly nine years have passed without lifting a fifth major title and this is his last chance to avoid a decade long drought.
“I can’t think about those 155 players, I just got to focus on myself and if I can focus on myself and play the golf that I know I am capable of I know I will have a good chance to win. I am very confident with where my game is, I have sort of proven that over the last few weeks, so the more I can focus on myself and try to shut out that outside noise, that’s the best thing for me to do.”
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