Rory McIlroy is back in PGA Tour action this week as he takes on the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village.
McIlroy is making his first appearance since the PGA Championship at Aronimink, where he finished in a tie for seventh.
That represents one of three top 10 finishes from his seven starts in 2026, with his only victory having arrived at The Masters at Augusta.
McIlroy enters the Memorial as a 30-time champion on the PGA Tour, but the Northern Irishman has now revealed his ambitions to win two events that he has never won.
Rory McIlroy picks the two PGA Tour events he really wants to win
Sharing what it would mean to win the Memorial, which is hosted by Jack Nicklaus, he said: “Yeah, I would say here and Tiger’s [Woods] event at Riviera, they’re the two that I would love to win.
“I’ve been lucky enough to win at Bay Hill, but not while Arnold [Palmer] was alive.
“So I always thought it would be cool to win here and take that little walk up the hill off the 18th green and shake Jack’s hand.
“Also, Jack and I share a nice history. We’ve known each other now for nearly 20 years… or I’ve known him for nearly 20 years.
“He’s been nothing but great to me and my family. So, yeah, this is certainly one I would love to get done.”
Along with his near misses at Muirfield, he came agonizingly close to lifting the trophy at Riviera this year, finishing in a tie for second at The Genesis Invitational in February.
Rory McIlroy plans to be less aggressive at Muirfield Village
Perhaps unsurprisingly, McIlroy was then tasked with suggesting why he has thus far failed to get it done at Muirfield.
He proposed: “Yeah, for being such a long golf course I feel like it takes driver out of my hand a lot, which, you know, I pride myself on that being one of my biggest weapons.
“The fairways pinch in right around the spots where I would be finishing driver. So it’s frustrated me in a way that I feel like my biggest weapon is in some way neutralized here.
“And then I have to play the golf course like most of the other guys in the field, which I think I can… everyone plays from the same spots.
“It’s more that there’s bunkers that I think I can carry that I could get an advantage, but there’s really no advantage to it because, obviously, the rough here is so penal, and then angles into greens.
“And so it’s just about me being a little more disciplined and not being so aggressive with my strategy.”
McIlroy will be battling a tough course and indeed a tough field this week, which includes the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Cameron Young and Matt Fitzpatrick.
But the experienced Northern Irishman will undoubtedly be focusing on his own game at Muirfield, where he has been paired with Justin Thomas for rounds one and two.
Read more:
Rory McIlroy confirms if he’ll continue to skip events if the PGA Tour changes schedule
Brendon de Jonge says what doesn’t make sense about Rory McIlroy as he returns to the Memorial
Jack Nicklaus reveals what he told Rory McIlroy just before he teed off on Sunday at The Masters
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