LATEST BUILD-UP FROM THE US PGA
McIlroy out to find swing again as he targets return to Major winners’ circle
RORY McILROY will take inspiration from his last victory at Harding Park – and his play before the lockdown – as he seeks to end to his six-year Major drought at the US PGA.
The Ulsterman won all seven matches as he claimed the WGC-Match Play on his first appearance at the San Francisco course in 2015.
And the four-time Major winner was close to his old form as he returned to world No.1 in March in a stretch of seven consecutive top-five finishes around the world.
But since the return of the PGA Tour in June, McIlroy’s only top-30 finish in five appearances was tied 11th at the Travelers Championship.
And the world No.3 arrives at the first Major of the year needing another change to his strange season.
McIlroy said: “Before the world sort of shut down I was playing some really good, consistent golf. And then, having that three-month break, coming back, everything sort of changed.
“Everything feels different, in the competitive arena anyway. It’s the first Major in over a year and it would be a great week to get back into some form and give it a good run. I feel like my game is really close.
McIlroy’s patchy recent form was summed up by his scores in the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational last week, as he shot 73-6673-67 to finish tied for 47th.
He added: “There’s been good scores in there. I shot a 63 at Colonial, a 65 to make the cut at Hilton Head, a 63 at Travelers, a couple of good scores last week in Memphis.
“So the good stuff is in there, it’s just the sharpness and being efficient with my scoring. I’m driving well. My
iron play is good for the most part. It’s just getting that key up-and-down to keep momentum going, holing a putt here or there to keep the round going for the day.
“Even the mediocre scores that I’ve shot I’ve come off the course thinking, ‘Well, I actually didn’t play too badly, I just didn’t get a lot out of the round’.
“If I can just keep playing like that and keep being a little bit more efficient with my scoring I’ll be right where I need to be.”
McIlroy was world No.1 when he arrived in California in April 2015 and won his second consecutive WGC event. He said: “It’s nice to have some memories around a course that you’re playing a Major championship on.
“Hopefully some of that can help me this week and can rekindle that sort of form that helped me win here a few years ago.
“If I remember anything about the week it’s that I played well when I needed to and I hit good shots at the right times – and that’s sort of what you need to do in match play.
“It’s nice to have some memories around a course that you’re playing a Major championship on. It’s nice to be able to recall some of the shots that you’ve hit.
“Hopefully some of that can help me this week and can rekindle that sort of form that helped me win here a few years ago.”
The world No.3 has openly admitted a lack of adrenalin playing without crowds.
“He said: At this point we should all be used to it. I’ve said in the last few weeks I’ve struggled to adapt to it but it is what it is. You need to go out there and do the best that you can.
“I’ve found myself looking at leaderboards a little more just to see where I am on there and see where other people are.
“There’s no feedback from anywhere else. There’s even no scoreboard holders, so you don’t even know how the guys in your group are doing.
“We all wish we were playing in front of fans and have it feel like a real Major but I think we’re just lucky that we’re able to play golf tournaments at this point.
“It’s just taken a little while to get used to that. If having to play golf without fans is in the forefront of my mind as one of my biggest concerns then everything is okay.”