Rory McIlroy tees it up at Royal Birkdale this week in search of his second Open Championship win.
McIlroy’s one and only Open Championship title so far came at Hoylake back in 2014, and he would dearly love to add another to his major trophy haul.
The 37-year-old has played a limited schedule so far this season, and has dedicated more of his time to preparing for the majors by playing practice rounds at the host venues.
Rory McIlroy has won six major championships in his career, and has completed the career Grand Slam.
He has unquestionably fulfilled his own dreams and ambitions. However, the Northern Irishman recently admitted that a new goal of his was to complete the career Grand Slam for a second time with Harry Diamond on the bag.
A win at The Open Championship this week would see him move halfway towards that goal.
Paul McGinley suggests what Rory McIlroy needs to prove at The Open this week
McIlroy insisted he is not motivated by setting records when he spoke to the media on Tuesday ahead of The Open.
He clearly does still have a burning desire to win majors, but regular Tour events don’t seem to cut the mustard for him anymore.
Paul McGinley spoke to Sky Sports about McIlroy’s change in approach to preparing for the major championships, and he suggested that the jury is still very much out.
“The jury is still out on whether this is the right approach for him,“ McGinley said.
“You know, he was two weeks off going into the Masters, spent a lot of time up there at Augusta, did some great practice, and obviously went on to win that tournament.
“Since then, between the three majors, he’s had only one tournament in between.
“So as much as we know that he’s at home practising and getting ready, you know, competition is important.
“I thought last week was really, really good for him. To finish in the top 10.
“I know he had the poor third round, but it was really good to play a links golf course under competitive conditions, maybe not have his best golf, but get a lot of the cobwebs out competitively, and still finish 7th.
“So, I think the jury is still out on whether this is the right approach, where less is more for Rory.
“Every player is different and you’ve got to navigate your way.
“Rory’s life has changed remember. He’s in a different spot than he would have been seven or eight, nine, ten years ago in his career. You know, he’s settled down now as a family man.
“He’s got a beautiful house down in the London area. He loves spending time there during the summer, as his family does.
“So, priorities change, and he’s trying to come up with, you know, what is a new cocktail for getting ready for these major championships, and there’s a little bit of a trial error involved in that.
“So I think the proof will be in the pudding, and how he plays this week, and how he assesses the last three majors, having had a kind of sporadic approach to playing competitive golfing between them.“
Proof will be in the pudding for Rory McIlroy
Tiger Woods always played an extremely light schedule during his time in the game.
McIlroy was also advised by Jack Nicklaus to not play in a tournament the week before major championships and practice and prepare instead.
He has won The Masters in back-to-back years, but he hasn’t really looked like winning another event over the past 14 months aside from the Genesis Invitational this year and the Genesis Scottish Open last year, when he had a real chance heading into the final round.
McIlroy’s lighter schedule will definitely enable him to put in more prep work at the major venues.
However, will he be competitively sharp enough to win the very biggest tournaments? As Paul McGinley said, the jury is still very much out in that regard.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
