Rory McIlroy was not at his best in Philadelphia, but for the world number two it was more a case of gauging where his game was at and what specifically he needed to work on in the days leading up to the second major of the year this week.
“I sort of struggled with this in Houston as well,” he said after his radar was slightly off with his driver, “whenever we get these big, wide, open golf courses where there’s not a ton of definition. I think I would have hit more fairways if it had been tree lined.
“I felt like I drove it a little better on the back nine today, which was good. Hard thing this week as well is the wind on the range has been left-to-right all week, and then you get out there, and the first hole you play right-to-left, 4, it’s like just trying to adjust again.
“Overall I felt like I got a little better as the week went on. Played good. As you said, like bogey-free. I wish I’d made a few more birdies. I’ve got a better gauge of where my game is standing here right now than I did at the start of the week. It was a good week for that.
“I wish I had gotten myself into contention a little bit more, but it was a good week, especially looking ahead to next week.”
It was McIlroy’s fourth PGA Tour Signature Event appearance of 2025, having won at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship, but opted to skip the RBC Heritage the week after winning at Augusta National.
And the format of having a Signature Event leading in to a Major Championship is one he approves of while playing the week after a major is met with the opposite reaction.
“Before, I’m all for. After, I wouldn’t — I’m not a huge fan of it, but there’s only so many weeks in the year,” he added.
“I really like playing the week before if it makes sense. I think, again, this week was a great indication of where my game is and what I need to think about and what I need to work on going into next week. But the weeks after majors are tough.”
McIlroy had hoped to hang around and watch Shane Lowry follow him into the 2025 PGA Tour winners’ circle, and he feels that his close friend has taken his game to another level since making the decision to move full-time to the United States.
“I’ve seen a big difference in Shane since he started living here full-time,” McIlroy explained. “We practice and play together so much at home. Just the back and forth from Ireland is tough. Even this time of the year, it’s still hard to practice over there.
“I just feel like I’ve seen such a big improvement in his consistency week to week because of where he lives, being able to practice in great conditions on great golf courses, get in games with the likes of myself or Rickie or JT or whoever lives down in Jupiter.
“It’s been amazing as his friend to see him play so well and so consistently.”
He can now turn his full attention to Quail Hollow and the PGA Championship where he arrives as joint favourite with world number one Scottie Scheffler. And with his well-known love for the golf course in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the fact that he still semi-contended at Philadelphia Cricket Club with a game that was far from his best, he’s got plenty reason to be confident.
“I think I’m in a good place,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I played all that well this week, I still finished seventh. Even my — what I feel is my bad golf, I’m still there or thereabouts.
“A couple little improvements and little tweaks, especially going to a place I love like Quail Hollow, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.”
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