Ignorance is major bliss for McIlroy at Bellerive
He won’t overthink PGA bid
RORY McILROY thought he’d got everything right in the buildup to the US Open in June. Determined to make amends for his poor final round at the Masters, he felt he’d left no stone unturned.
‘I even walked the course one day with just a wedge and a putter in my hand, and I’ve never done that before in my life,’ said the Holywood man who is in contention to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational today after a third-round 67.
‘I did all my preparation, I thought I had covered every base, and what happened? I was nine over par after 10 holes. So, you can definitely overthink it.’
It’s one of the reasons why, when he turns up at Bellerive in St Louis tomorrow for the 100th US PGA Championship, he will be seeing the course for the first time. ‘It did cross my mind to go up there last week when I got home to Florida from Carnoustie,’ he said. ‘But I haven’t done that in the past for the PGA and I’ve won the event twice, so why change what’s worked for me? After all it clearly didn’t work at Shinnecock.’
The PGA will mark four years since his last victory at a major, when he came from behind on a thrilling final day to pip the American duo Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler at Valhalla.
It was his fourth major in as many years and it led to extravagant talk of even matching Tiger Woods’s total of 14 one day. Now, McIlroy is acutely aware that the clock is ticking but the 29-year-old will travel to Missouri in good spirits following his joint runner-up finish at the Open and a strong first three days in Akron.
‘That was a weird one,’ he said of Carnoustie. ‘Usually when I get that close to winning I’m not able to see the positives, and it takes me a couple of days. There it was the exact opposite. In the immediate aftermath I was pleased to get so close considering I didn’t have my best stuff but then you start to kick yourself thinking you could have done this or that.
‘At the end of the day, it was a good performance going into the PGA, the major where I generally feel most comfortable. This is the one where I can just play my natural game, I don’t have to think about manufacturing shots or rein in my attacking instincts.’
He will certainly be in the spotlight from the off, with a first round tee-time alongside defending champion Justin Thomas and Woods. The last time McIlroy played with his boyhood idol, in February, he said the noise left him with a headache. The buzz this time might be a perfect kickstart.
McIlroy had a solid third round in Ohio yesterday. Two birdies on the outward nine gave way to a run of pars, but a birdie at the 17th helped him set the clubhouse target as the third round came to a close, at that stage three shots behind leader Justin Thomas, who was 14 under. He was well clear of Woods, who was three under after a threeover-par 73 and Paul Dunne, down at four over after a 75.