Since The Open ended, Rory McIlroy has been singularly targeted on one excellent purpose.
And now it’s simply three weeks away.
McIlroy is continuous his Ryder Cup preparation this week with one other begin at dwelling, this time on the DP World Tour’s Irish Open on the Okay Membership. It’s the primary of back-to-back occasions for McIlroy, as he hopes to steer by instance for the Europeans as they attempt to win on overseas soil for the primary time since 2012.
“I believe the Europeans have an exquisite alternative this yr to realize one thing very, very particular,” McIlroy advised reporters Wednesday, “but it surely’s additionally going to be very troublesome.”
McIlroy, making his eighth Ryder Cup look, is probably the most veteran member of the European aspect, and he mentioned that successful a highway sport is “up there with one of many largest achievements within the sport.” Between controlling the course setup and getting a lift from the partisan crowd, the house aspect has received the final 5 cups by a mean of 6.6 factors.
European captain Luke Donald finalized his 12-man roster earlier this week, bringing again six gamers from the victorious 2023 squad. McIlroy mentioned that “love(s) the staff that Luke has assembled,” with 11 members coming back from the squad that received by 5 factors two years in the past.
Now it comes all the way down to execution.
Justin Rose received the primary FedExCup playoff occasion and Tommy Fleetwood closed out the postseason together with his first profession PGA Tour victory on the Tour Championship. Bob MacIntyre has kicked on because the U.S. Open. McIlroy himself, in the meantime, has received 3 times this season, however not because the Masters in April. In his final two begins, McIlroy mentioned that he hit the ball poorly on the BMW Championship (T-12) and putted woefully on the Tour Championship (T-23), and now he’s seeking to put all items of his sport along with one eye on Bethpage.
The highest two ranked gamers on the planet, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, will headline a rapid-fire, staff golf competitors later this yr.
“These are two massive weeks to ensure the sport is sharp, however I believe the one strategy to let you know’re as sharp as you need to be is getting your self in competition below strain and the enterprise finish of issues on Sunday,” he mentioned. “I believe it’s essential to do this. It’s essential to present myself a few possibilities to win.
“In the end, successful, that will be pretty, however I don’t suppose it’s completely essential going into the Ryder Cup. However it will be nice to a minimum of really feel actually good about my sport and looking forward to Bethpage.”
