Triple Major winning Rory McIlroy arrived in Akron, Ohio for this week’s WGC – Bridgestone Invitational sporting a short-back-and-sides haircut.

But McIlroy was also sporting a fair amount of stubble on his face.

And when asked if he was following an increasing trend of growing a beard he responded saying:  “No. I just haven’t shaved.  I’m actually going down to Wallgreens this afternoon to buy some razors.”

McIlroy arrived in the ‘Soap Box Derby’ capital looking to win a first World Golf Championship title in his career and a fortnight after having captured a third Major Championship with his two shot victory at Royal Liverpool.

Rory McIlroy – ‘I would love to end my career with 12 Majors’. (Photo – Eoin Clarke/www.golffile.ie)

And in the aftermath of his third Major Championship success he was asked how different has been winning golf’s oldest major compared to his 2011 US Open and 2012 PGA Championship triumphs.

“I think just because it was The Open Championship and being from those islands where it’s so important and there was ‑‑ again, I didn’t ‑‑ after the PGA, I didn’t go back home after,” he said.

“So I didn’t really ‑‑ and I was caught up.  The Olympic games were on as well, so there were a lot of sports stories going on at that time, where it was ‑‑ you go home on Monday, it was the biggest story of the day.

“It just felt just that little bit bigger.  I felt like my fame or celebrity or whatever you want to call it just went up another notch after the win.

“So as I was kind of saying earlier, it’s kind of something I’m going to have to handle from now on.

“But it’s another major championship.  It is The Open.  It’s the one that I dreamed about winning when I was a kid at Holywood Golf Club, holing all those putts to beat Tiger and beat Phil and beat Ernie.

“Again, I feel like I’ve done it.  It’s great to be introduced as The Open champion, but I need to move on from that and say I’ve got a lot more golf left this year, and I want to achieve a lot more.

“I’m enjoying being The Open champion, but that’s not all I want to be this year.  I want to do more.”