McIlroy Returns To Competition Admits He’s ‘A Bit Like A Part-Timer These Days’ But Serious About Jack’s Event.

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Rory McIlroy is returning to competition for a first time this week since his double Masters triumph admitting he feels more like a part-timer than the game’s No. 2 ranked golfer.

McIlroy has not teed-up in competition since his share of seventh place on May 17th at the PGA Championship.

“I feel a bit like a part-timer these days. But, yeah, no, I had a couple weeks off. We got ourselves settled into our house in London for the summer. So it was nice to be over there for sort of like the last 10 days,“ said McIlroy in attending a pre-Memorial tournament media conference in Dublin, Ohio.

“Yeah, a little bit of practice. Stopped off at Shinnecock on the way to here on Monday. Scouted it a little bit and played. So, yeah, excited I’m for a good tournament here. I missed this one last year. It’s good to be back. So the course is as hard as ever, so looking forward to the challenge this week.“

McIlroy will be teeing-up in only his sixth regular PGA Tour event of the year, a reflection of his decision to tailor his schedule to personal circumstances.

While he remains unconcerned about future changes to the PGA Tour, he acknowledges that playing less reduces his chances of securing the lucrative end-of-year FedEx Cup.

“I would back myself to finish in that top 100 or whatever it is (to retain his status) if I play a limited schedule,” he added smiling.

“Does it mean it makes it harder for myself to win the FedEx Cup or whatever the season-long title race is going to be called? Absolutely, but I’m OK with that because it brings balance to my life and lets me enjoy things outside of the game.”

McIlroy’s presser turned a little more serious when McIlroy was asked about his thoughts on the up-coming US Open host venue at Shinnecock Hills, insisting that the notoriously challenging surfaces are already fast enough.

The Northern Irishman’s comments come after a reconnaissance visit to the Long Island course, ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

During his Monday visit, McIlroy expressed pleasant surprise at the generous width of the fairways, found the depth of the rough unsurprising, and was content with the current playability of the greens.

However, with a forecast predicting nearly two weeks of sun, temperatures in the low to mid-20s Celsius, and minimal rain, he fears conditions could rapidly accelerate.

Concerns over excessively slick putting surfaces have plagued previous US Opens, with balls famously rolling off greens.

The last time Shinnecock hosted the tournament in 2018, Phil Mickelson incurred a two-shot penalty for hitting his ball while it was still moving to prevent it from disappearing off a false front – a stark reminder of the course’s potential for extreme conditions.

“The fairways are very generous. They’re more generous than they were in 2018 but the first cut of rough is five inches long,” McIlroy stated.

“The greens are rolling around 11, 11.2 (anything over 12 is considered fast and last year’s US Open at Oakmont was between 13 and 14), something like that and I really don’t think they need to get much faster.

“I think if they can keep them at that speed they can get them firm and use the hole locations that they want to use without having some of the struggles that they have had the last couple of US Opens. It’s all about them just maintaining the green speeds really where they are and not getting them too out of hand and I think it will be a great week.”

And McIlroy’s thoughts of finally capturing Jack’s event for the first time in his career.

“Yeah, absolutely. Obviously, Jack being the host and everything else that comes along with this tournament, the golf course, the wonderful work they do for the local community here as well,“ said McIlroy.

“ So, yeah, it’s a wonderful tournament. Obviously a great list of champions on a wonderful golf course. I haven’t quite figured it out yet. It’s frustrated me over my career. But hopefully this is the week that I put it all together“.

If so, it will be pro career No. 46 for Rors.



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