With 7 Days Left For the Open, Rory McIlroy Lacking Past Confidence as Pinehurst Agony Looms
A decade of winning worldwide, yet, none of the victories account for the fifth major for Rory McIlroy. It has been eluding him since he won the 2014 PGA Championship. And that curse followed him on Pinehurst No. 2 as well. Before tackling the difficult course, the Northern Irishman displayed confidence like no other.
He had a strategy in mind and wanted to play methodically. The 4-time major winner was confident enough as he said, “Obviously, getting my hands on a fifth major has taken quite a while. But I’m more confident than ever that I’m right there, that I’m as close as I’ve ever been.” However, that confidence was broken by Bryson DeChambeau as he took away the U.S. Open trophy. It seems that McIlroy has not fully recovered from the loss and the same McIlroy might not be gracing the Royal Troon Golf Club.
Rory McIlroy isn’t getting ready for the 152nd Open
It is the first event Rory McIlroy is playing after the heartbreak at Pinehurst. The 26-time PGA Tour winner has picked up his game where he left it in July and carded 5 under 65 to be T5 on the Genesis Scottish Open leaderboard. In just three days, the Northern Irishman would be moving just miles away to Royal Troon for the last major of the year and his last chance to break the winless major streak.
McIlroy was asked at the press conference if he was doing anything this week that would aid in the potential 5th major win. The answer might be surprising, but McIlroy said, “Not really. Just familiarising myself with a links golf again.” The 35-year-old added he would play a links course after his last stint at the 151st Open, where he finished T6.
