Rory McIlroy Is Ready To Win After A Winless Year
Golf benefits when Rory McIlroy is in top form. He’s engaging and can hit the ball a loooong distance. So, when he went goose egg on wins last year, the sport wasn’t nearly as cool.
But, as he tells Sky Sports, McIlroy is ready to be a force once again. And, his schedule is the busiest ever before The Masters. Apparently, he’s healthy too after dealing with a rib injury and being told he has an irregular heartbeat.
The four-time major champion was forced to miss last year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship due to a rib joint problem that would continue to hamper him throughout the season, but he believes those issues are now firmly behind him and he is looking forward to playing a busy schedule of eight tournaments in the build-up to the Masters in April.
“I’m excited to be back at a golf tournament, it’s been a while,” he said at his pre-tournament press conference. “The last few months have been really nice just to concentrate on a few things I needed to take care of in terms of getting myself fit and healthy to come back and sharpen up a few things in my game.
“Obviously this is the first real test of getting back and seeing how I am. So I’m looking forward to just getting out there and seeing how I perform when I need to. It’s a place I’ve done well before and obviously a golf course I know well, so it’s a comfortable place to come back and make a fresh start of the year.
“I’d love to win again, and I don’t think there’s any better feeling than winning a golf tournament. But I don’t feel like it’s that far away. I’ve practised and I’ve played and I’ve shot some really good scores over the past few weeks, but obviously it’s different doing that to being out here on Thursday and really having a card in your hand.
Asked how important it was to get back in the winners’ circle before the first major of the season, he added: “I don’t think I need to but I’d love to. I mean, it would be ideal if I were to win one of these next eight events or whatever, hopefully not just one. It would be great for my confidence going into Augusta.
He’s off to a good start with a bogey-free 3-under after the first round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship., missing only one green. Which means his iffy putting could still use some work.
“I sort of knew what to expect out there, but at the same time, you never really know,” he said after narrowly missing from 10 feet on his final green. “I was a little nervous on the first tee. This was my first competitive round in over 100 days, so it was a little bit different. But I did well. I felt like my swing was under control and I was able to hit every shot that I needed to. And I stayed patient. I gave myself loads of chances and started the day with 11 straight pars. So it was nice to birdie three of the last seven and get in under 70.”
