Orlando, FL ….
Rory McIlroy is confident history will repeat itself and he’ll come back a winner.
McIlroy tees up in this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational having missed the cut in last week’s Valspar Championship and this after also missing the cut last month in the AT & T Pebble Beach Open.
The Arnold Palmer, and with McIlroy competing for a fourth straight year, is the seventh of eight events the current World No. 13 is contesting ahead of the 5th April commencing Masters.
Rory McIlroy on top of the lesder board at the 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro-Am (Photo @tourmiss)
McIlroy had long-time coach, Michael Bannon with him last week at the Valspar and after missing the Copperhead course cut the duo headed back to the Bear’s Club where they spend the weekend again working together ahead of Bannon returning to Belfast to celebrate his 60th birthday.
McIlroy last won in late 2016 and is currently on a second longest winless run in his 10-year pro career.
But as McIlroy pointed the ancient club-and-ball game that’s handed him four Majors and 18 other pro victories has always been one of peaks and troughs.
“The work I did with Michael last week when he was over was no more intense than any other practice session we’ve had and I always go through periods like this in a year,” he said.
Rory McIlroy and caddy Harry Diamond during 2018 Arnold Palmer Invitational Pro Am. (Photo @tourmiss)
“Everyone has periods of ups and downs but then I remember we had an intense period after The Open at Royal Lytham (2012 – T60th) and this was after a good start to my year and a real purple patch period including winning the Honda Classic to go to No. 1 in the world,” he said.
“Then after working with Michael I went to Akron for the Bridgestone Invitational and finished fifth which was a real spark and I recall saying to myself: ‘Oh, This feels better’.
“Then the next week I went to Kiawah Island and won the PGA Championship and then won back-to-back FedEx Cup tournaments.
“So, there has always been periods in my career like that and this game is not always linear as it ebbs and flows, and I guess it’s like what Padraig (Harrington) says and that is it’s always work in progress.”
And to back-up his comments McIlroy led his team to share victory on a combined 11-under par in the Wednesday morning Pro-Am.
The effort was three shots fewer than the Tiger Woods team immediately in front of McIlroy’s.
