The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
McIlroy: Patience is key
CROMWELL — His first experience at TPC River Highlands last year can be reduced to numbers: three putters in four rounds to produce a 6-under-par week, leaving Rory McIlroy tied for 17th.
His second Travelers Championship comes after a U.S. Open on Long Island in which 1-over won the thing, after which, he quipped Wednesday, at least he only endured the mental test for two days, not four.
“(This tournament) is almost a complete opposite to last week. It’s a relatively short golf course,” said McIlroy, 29, a four-time major champion. “Any time you play a practice round, you feel if you don’t shoot 65, you haven’t played that well.
“It’s just knowing that that’s not going to happen every day. Obviously there’s a lot of low scores shot here, but knowing even if you are even par, or 1-under, 1-over, whatever it is, just to stay really patient with it, because it does present a lot of opportunities.”
McIlroy said River Highlands reminds him of the Hong Kong Golf Club, where the European Tour holds a tournament.
“It’s a par-70, same kind of thing,
quite short,” McIlroy said. “You feel you have a wedge in your hand every hole, but if you don’t hit it in the fairway and put yourself in the right position, it can get a little tricky.”
McIlroy’s visit here last year had ups and downs, leaving him even through three rounds before posting a 64 on Sunday. He changed putters after the second round, then again after the third.
“I think I turned up on Saturday morning with about 10, whittled it down to one,” McIlroy said.
“This year, I’ve putted a lot better. I started to do a little bit of work with (Champions Tour player) Brad Faxon, which helped. My putting’s been probably as good as it ever has in terms of strokes gained.”
McIlroy said statistics have become a big part of his preparation, particularly looking at shots gainedapproach to green. He said that had been a strong part of his game in the past but had slipped. TaylorMade research engineer James Cornish sends a summary, he said, on how to approach a given course.
This week, he’ll face a field that includes four other men in the top nine of the Official World Golf Ranking, where McIlroy ranks seventh and defending champion Jordan Spieth sits fifth.
Last year, both golfers used the Travelers to fulfill a new PGA Tour rule that required golfers to play a tournament they hadn’t attended in the past four years.
They’ve both returned, and McIlroy was the first golfer announced for this year’s field. Playing with two-time Travelers champion Bubba Watson and reigning PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas, McIlroy will tee off at 1 p.m. today, beginning the first round on the front nine.
He’ll be seeking his second win of the year.
“I feel I’ve had five realistic chances to win this year, but I’ve only been able to close out one of them (Arnold Palmer Invitational in March),” McIlroy said. “That’s been disappointing, I guess, but at least I’ve given myself five chances to win a golf tournament, which is more than I did last year.”