[PHOTO: Icon Sportswire]
The reception Rory McIlroy received this week at East Lake Golf Club – just a few hours up the road from Augusta National Golf Club – was a warm-up, obviously in appreciation for his stirring Masters victory in April. The reception he’ll receive at Bethpage Black in New York next month won’t be nearly as welcoming.
RELATED: Riding the Rory-Coaster – the inside view of Rory McIlroy’s 2025 Masters victory
He might be getting a preview tonight. After a rather substandard performance in the Tour Championship, McIlroy was rushing off to the Big Apple to take in the first round of the US Open tennis tournament, particularly to watch seventh-seed Novak Djokovic take on Learner Tien.
That should be more enjoyable than his golf this week. With an even-par 70 to close, McIlroy ended a distant T-23 in the 30-man field at six-under 274. The reigning Masters champion struggled all week on the greens a week after he seemingly had his putting sorted out.
“I hit it better. The things that I wanted to improve on this week, I did,” said the world No.2. “Off the tee was much better. I’m probably leading strokes gained: off the tee.”
He was spot on. McIlroy led the field in driving but was 28th in putting, losing more than five shots to the field.
“I just couldn’t get the speed of the greens all week, and I struggled to see lines and to feel the speed,” he said. “That was really the story of the week. My putting was so good last week at [the BMW Championship at Caves Valley], and then my off-the-tee play wasn’t good and it sort of just inverted. But my game feels close. It certainly isn’t far away.”
McIlroy, 36, will remain busy in the coming weeks, competing in the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour after a week off. He’s hoping to get his game in better shape in hopes of capturing of his seventh Race to Dubai title.
“Those are two big weeks for me to try to extend my lead in the Race to Dubai,” he explained. “That’s become a pretty important thing for me. I’m chasing a little bit of history there. I want to put my head down and play well those couple of weeks. They’re sort of like two home tournaments for me, Ireland being my national Open and then we live pretty much on the course at Wentworth. Big couple of weeks to try to play well but also sharpen up different aspects of the game going into the Ryder Cup.
“Yeah, the season is not over for me. I’ve still got a lot of golf coming up. I refuse to call this the end of the season.”
A return to Georgia ended up being an emotional one for McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam in April with his Masters victory in a sudden-death playoff over Justin Rose. Augusta National asked him to put on his green jacket on the eve of this week’s PGA Tour playoff finale.
“I actually did a couple of things for Augusta National this week,” he revealed. “I didn’t go [to Augusta], but there was a couple things I had to do. I had the green jacket on for a few hours on Wednesday doing something. It was nice to reminisce. They made me cry again.”
