McILROY READY TO MAKE A NEW MAJOR IMPACT
RORY McILROY believes he has a golden opportunity to add to his haul of Majors this summer.
McIlroy has had five top-10 finishes in golf’s biggest tournaments since his last victory in the 2014 US PGA.
Despite that he has never been in serious contention and has endured an injury-hit campaign.
But he expects the courses for The Open this month and the US PGA to be to his liking. As he prepared to host the Irish Open at Portstewart the world No.4 and fourtime Major winner said: “I’m close. I’ve got two big opportunities coming up this summer.
“Birkdale is a golf course I feel I can do well at. And then Quail Hollow for the PGA, I’ve won there twice, my first win on the PGA Tour and last time I won by seven.
“They are opportunities to get back on the Major ladder and start to win those again.”
After missing the cut in the Irish Open for three years running, McIlroy won the title at the K Club 12 months ago thanks to a birdie on the 16th and a spectacular eagle on the last.
And he believes he has learnt how to handle all the off-course distractions. adding: “I’m very proud to be sitting here as defending champion.
“The Irish Open is a title I’ve wanted to win since I was a young boy, and to realise that dream last year (left) was very special. Not only because of winning, but in the fashion I won. It was one of the highlights of my career.
“There’s always that little bit of extra pressure when you come home to play and I’ve struggled with that in the past.
“I felt last year was one of the first times I embraced it and used the crowd support in the right way rather than it being a negative.
“I’ve played quite a bit of links golf over the past 10 days.
“You never quite know but my game is feeling good.”