Rory McIlroy feels he is better prepared than previous years for this week’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open as he looked forward to the challenge of taking on Ballyliffin.
McIlroy powered to the title at the K Club two years ago, but he has missed the cut at the event in four of the last five seasons and has now cut down on his off-course commitments to focus more on his game.
The 29-year-old is again acting as tournament host on behalf of his charitable foundation, but he has insisted he has put in the required work on the range to give his home fans plenty to cheer at the County Donegal venue.
“I’ve cut back from a few things off the golf course,” said McIlroy at his pre-tournament press conference. “It’s not that we’re not doing them, I’m just maybe not as involved in some of the stuff.
“There have been a couple of times where I haven’t felt as prepared as I could have been walking on to the first tee on Thursday. So I got here Monday morning, practised all day and I was back here at 8am yesterday.
“I’ve done my work, so there’s no excuse about not being prepared or not, and I’ve learned that as I went along. I felt I was under-prepared at County Down, I felt okay at The K Club I guess, but I feel this year, I’m right where I need to be.”
McIlroy also believes the Glashedy Links at Ballyliffin is the ideal place to begin his preparations for The 147th Open at Carnoustie in a fortnight as he bids to head into the third major of the year full of confidence.
“You know, it’s a tough track here,” he added. “You can’t put it in the bunkers off the tee because they really are penal. So you have to hit fairways, the greens are getting firm, it’s getting bouncy out there, and it’s going to be a really good test this week.
“The sun I think is going to shine for the next four days, as well, so it will only get firmer. That’s the way a links should play, and I think everyone’s looking forward to that.
“I think this not just a tune-up, obviously it’s a great event in its own right, but I think there are elements to this golf course that if you can hit the shots here, you should be able to do it at Carnoustie as well.”
McIlroy has now gone almost four years without a major victory, but he is adamant that he would be content in life whether or not he adds to his haul of four, although he did concede he would feel that he would have failed to fulfil his potential.
“If I didn’t win another major for the rest of my career, nothing is going to change in my life whether I win one or not,” said McIlroy, who last tasted major success at the 2014 PGA Championship just three weeks after winning The Open at Hoylake.
“But obviously I don’t feel like I’ll have fulfilled my potential. But at the same time, there are other things in my life that are more important than golf. I’d be disappointed but again, it’s not going to change things. I don’t panic. It doesn’t keep me up at night.
“I just need to give myself chances. I was proud of myself just to get into the final group at the Masters this year. I didn’t have a good Sunday, but I would have needed something pretty special to beat Patrick, anyway.
“The US Open was the US Open, but I’ve got two more chances this year to hopefully play myself into contention. That was my goal this year, it wasn’t to win majors, it was just to give myself a chance and to put myself in positions to see how I fair.
“I did that at Augusta and I felt like I learned a bit from it. And then hopefully going into Carnoustie and Bellerive, I can put myself in similar positions.”
