St. Louis, Missouri …
Rory McIlroy hit the Bellerive practice range Monday in searing 100-degree F temperatures looking to pick-up the pieces from Sunday’s Bridgestone meltdown.
He hit balls for about an hour in the sauna-like conditions before heading to downtown St. Louis to join Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood again hitting balls under the famed ‘Gateway to the West’ arch located on the banks of the Mississippi River.
He tees-up this week a double champion in the 100th staging of the PGA Championship on the Bellerive Country Club course located to the north-west of the Missouri city.
Rory McIlroy joins Sergio Garcia and Tommy Fleetwood hitting balls Monday after the famed ‘Gateway to the West’ arch in St. Louis
McIlroy, and wearing shorts, again had long-time coach, Michael Bannon on hand and with ‘Team McIlroy’ arriving into the State of Missouri late Sunday night.
The new World No. 5 played the final round of the final Bridgestone Invitational in the company of Justin Thomas and with the American easily shouldering McIlroy aside to win by four shots.
McIlroy, who dropped as low as 10th place late on Sunday, did birdie the 17th but far too late in round of 73 for a share of sixth.
And McIlroy now has just three days to regroup following last Sunday’s disappointment before again being grouped with the 25-year old Thomas, and along with Tiger Woods, for the first two rounds of the year’s final Major.
Thomas, who won a first Major in capturing last year’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, is joint favourite with World No. 1 Dustin Johnson to make it back-to-back Rodman Wanamaker trophies and if successful ‘JT’ would be the first to do so since Woods in 2006 and 2007.
“I’m just in a great place mentally right now, I just was so patient and calm all last week,” said Thomas.
“I mean, I think I made six bogeys all week, something like that, which is pretty good around Akron as many birdies as I feel like I make.
“Everybody knows just some days, some weeks you wake up and you’re happy and you’re in a good spot and some weeks you don’t, and last week I just felt so good about my game.”
McIlroy had singled out Thomas’ ‘nasty’ streak last week in learning he would be grouped with Thomas for this week’s Major and with the duo often practicing together back in Florida.
“I like JT’s attitude over everything else,” said McIlroy.
“He’s got a nasty streak in him, which I think you need out here. He has that. When he gets himself in the hunt, you can see like a little twinkle in his eye and he really enjoys it”.
McIlroy clearly has a fight on his hands come Thursday in dimming that twinkled and not allow Thomas to go 3up over him come next Saturday.
AND in a novel first the famed Budweiser ‘Clydesdale’ horses delivered this week’s Rodman Wanamaker Trophy to the host championship golf course.
The Open has in recent years adopted the practice of the defending champion returning the Claret Jug in a top-of-the-line sponsor’s car but it was hard to beat the sight of the eight-horse drawn delivery to Bellerive.
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