McIlroy: This is the “most consistent period of golf I’ve ever played”

Rory McIlroy says this season has been the ‘most consistent period of golf’ he’s ever played but is trying to treat the Open at Portrush ‘like any other’ as he targets his fifth major championship

This week marks the first Open Championship to be played in Northern Ireland since 1951, and it happens to be at Royal Portrush – the place Rory McIlroy set the course record of 61 as a 16-year-old.  

Coupled with two victories already this year on the PGA Tour and his own admission that this season has been the ‘most consistent period of golf’ he’s ever played, expectations are understandably high for McIlroy as he seeks to end a five year major victory drought.

It’s comes as no surprise then that the four-time major winner, who claimed the Claret Jug at Hoylake back in 2014 and has finished T5-T4-T2 in the last three Open Championships, is the betting favourite this week. (see our tips here)

But just how well is he playing right now? 

On the PGA Tour this season, McIlroy ranks 1st for both strokes gained off the tee and tee to green, in addition to 2nd for scoring average and 6th for both birdie average and SG: Approach the green. He leads the strokes gained stats overall. 

In real terms, it equates to victories at both the Players Championship and RBC Canadian Open, in addition to nine other top 10s (including a T8 at the PGA Championship and T9 at the U.S. Open) in 2019 alone. From 14 starts. 

“I think it’s probably the most consistent period of golf I’ve ever played,” McIlroy said during his press conference on Wednesday.

“I use strokes gained numbers a lot in terms of what am I doing well in and what needs improvement, what am I going to go practice this week to get ready for next week or whatever it may be.

“So, yeah, the strokes gained numbers this year, and I’ve had a goal — if you’re consistently around two and a half strokes gained, that’s a really nice place to live. You’re going to have a nice life if you’re two and a half strokes gained every time.

“I’m sort of pushing up towards the three mark at this point this year. And I know if I keep doing that, then the wins will come and everything else sort of just falls into place.”

Portrush is also a place he knows well, having excelled here as a 16-year-old at the course he’s played numerous times over the years. It might have undergone a lot of change recently, but McIlroy said it’s still a place he feels very comfortable after initially being worried it would play differently this week. 

“I feel like you can — for me sometimes, you know, you play a golf course so much you start looking at the places where you don’t want to hit it,” McIlroy said. 

“I’ve played well here before. I know what I’m doing around here. I sort of was worried, I got here last Saturday thinking the course is going to change, the setup for an Open might be different. And I got here, and it’s still the same place.

“I said this last week, I had dinner booked — I hadn’t seen my mom in three months. I had dinner booked with parents on Saturday night at 8:00, thinking I’m going to have to spend some time around the greens and just prepare. And I got on the road back home and rang them and said, Can we move dinner up? Because I finished early. There’s no difference. It’s the same golf course.

“I think I was making it a little bit bigger in my head than it needed to be. And I’ve played this place enough times to know where to miss it, where not to miss it, where the good leaves are. No matter if there’s grandstands around or if there’s not, or if there’s a lot of people or if there’s not, it’s the same golf course.”

Having his caddie Harry Diamond on this week is an added bonus, too. 

“Harry has played more rounds of golf on this golf course than I have, and definitely more competitive rounds. He reached the final of the North a few years ago. So he’s got a lot of — he’s just as comfortable on this golf course as I am. So that is a big help this week.

“..not that I don’t let him have any say any other weeks, but I think with his experience around here, my ear will be a little sharper to what he has to say.”

That level of familiarity extends beyond the golf course for Rory this week, who said that at least so far his Open experience hasn’t felt any different than in previous years despite being held in Northern Ireland. And he’s adament that he’s also treating it just like any other year, too. 

“If I’m honest, it hasn’t felt any different than any other Open Championship, I feel like I get great support no matter where I go. I’m sure it will feel different tomorrow on that first tee and the buzz and everything. But up to this point the build up, it really hasn’t been much different, which has been a nice thing. It’s comforting in that way that it hasn’t felt any different.

“I’m just treating this like any other Open Championship. I’ve played well here for the last few years. I’ve played well on this golf course. So I’ve just got to go out and hit the shots and stay in the present. If I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hopefully by Sunday night that will be good enough.”

If there’s one concern surrounding McIlroy, it’s whether the pressure of expectation and talk of legacy of the week will affect his attention to the task at hand. 

“That can go one of two ways; right?,” McIlroy said. “I’ve always felt I’ve played my best golf when I’ve been totally relaxed and loose. And maybe that environment is what I need. I’m not saying that that’s the way I’m going to approach it. I’m still going to try to go out and shoot good scores and concentrate and do all the right things.

“But at the same time, I can’t just put the blinkers on and pretend that’s not all going on. I still have to — one of my sort of mantras this week is: Look around and smell the roses. This is a wonderful thing for this country and golf in general. And to be quite a big part of it is an honour and a privilege. And I want to keep reminding myself of that, that this is bigger than me; right? This is bigger than me.

“And I think if you can look at the bigger picture and you can see that, it sort of takes a little bit of the pressure off. I still want to play well and concentrate and do all the right things, but at the same time just having that perspective might just make me relax a little bit more.”

As for how McIlroy is going to approach the course this week? It’s all about navigating the bunkers, and he’s confident that his course knowledge will play to his advantage. 

“I think there’s a lot of approach shots here that are visually a little more intimidating than they play. But just little things and knowing where the lines are. I’m maybe a little more comfortable doing that stuff around here than some of the other Open venues.

“And I think the big key this week is just to keep it out of the fairway bunkers and keep it out of the rough. Even if you’re giving yourself a little longer second shots in. You’re able to play this golf course from the fairway. And with the way the rough has grown over the past couple of weeks, you’re not going to be able to score hitting it off line.”