Rory McIlroy: ‘Driver is least of my worries’

Rory McIlroy says the driver is the least of his worries as he targets a confidence-boosting performance ahead of next week’s Open at Royal Birkdale.

The four-time major winner arrived at Dundonald Links on Monday afternoon and spent a considerable amount of time practicing on the putting green in the evening before a lesson with coach Phil Kenyon on yesterday.

From that, McIlroy believes he has managed to work a few things out and is confident things will start to click into place soon.

“I worked a lot on my putting routine as I need to try and take ownership of what I’m really working on,” said McIlroy. “I feel like I’ve become quite bogged down in technical thoughts a little bit. So I need to focus more on my routine and how I approach a putt.

“My driver I feel is the least of my worries right now. I’m driving the ball pretty well. I can use it this week and hopefully take advantage of that here.

Read more – Rory quits Twitter after Elkington row

“My game is close. It’s hard to sit up here and stand in front of a camera every single time and say it’s close, because I sound a bit like a broken record after a few weeks. But really, it’s not far away.”

McIlroy also spoke about returning to the Scottish Open for the first time since 2014, an event which preceded his Open triumph at Royal Liverpool, and says that being in Ayrshire is the perfect preparation.

“I think playing links golf is the best way to prepare going into the Open and the last two weeks are huge events in their own right now – part of the Rolex Series, big ranking points and big prize money,” said McIlroy.

“That’s something I’m focused on, as well. I feel I’ve got ground to make up this year because of not playing as much as I would have wanted, and when I have played, not getting the results that I’ve wanted to.

“So it’s a big week. I want to have a chance to win and I feel like if I get myself in contention, that’s a great confidence boost for me going into Birkdale.”