AN HONEST Rory McIlroy conceded in the wake of last weekend’s U.S. Open that he hasn’t been in the right frame of mind since his Masters triumph – but is relishing the prospect of returning home now that the Open Championship at Royal Portrush is just weeks away.
The Holywood native ultimately finished in a share for 19th place at Oakmont Country Club, however that doesn’t accurately tell the story of his tournament. Lagging some 14 shots behind the Saturday leader Sam Burns going into the final round, McIlroy, with the pressure well and truly off posted the joint lowest score on Sunday with a three-under 67.
As stormy conditions and weather delays greeted the leaders later on, the Pittsburgh venue showed its teeth and then some, with American JJ Spaun the last man standing as he poured in a monster putt on the 18th green to claim his first major title on a winning score of one-under-par.
McIlroy’s emotions got the better of him on more than one occasion, twice lashing out during his second round with a club throw and a teebox marker smash within five holes of each other. Having declined to speak to the media after his previous six consecutive major championship rounds, McIlroy did face the press on Sunday.
The 36 year-old, who will play at this week’s Travelers Championship in Connecticut before beginning his preparations for Portrush, said: “Look, if I can’t get motivated to get up for an Open Championship at home, then I don’t know what can motivate me.
“I just need to get myself in the right frame of mind. I probably haven’t been there the last few weeks. Getting home and having a couple weeks off before that, hopefully feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, will get me in the right place again.”
The 2014 Open champion missed the cut when Royal Portrush last played host to the tournament in 2019, and as the obvious star attraction this time around following his career grand slam heroics, will be desperate to avoid a similar fate next month.
“I’m looking forward to just getting back to Europe in general,” continued the world number two.
“We’ve got a lot to look forward to, got our new house in London, play the Scottish Open and then, obviously, the Open at Portrush.
“It will be my first time sort of in public back home after winning the Masters. It will be amazing to go home and play in that atmosphere and see a lot of people that I still haven’t seen yet,” he added.
“I climbed my (Mount) Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down and look for another mountain to climb.
“An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”
