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Rory McIlroy joked about his prep for next week's PGA Championship
Rory McIlroy heads into next week’s PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club still searching for consistency after an uneven week at the Truist Championship, but the world No. 2 believes his preparation has already put him in a strong position.
McIlroy closed the Truist Championship with a final-round 67 at Quail Hollow to finish at 5-under-par for the tournament. The four-time major champion mixed strong ball-striking with ongoing swing adjustments as he continued preparing for the second major championship of the season.
After the round, McIlroy also joked about his early preparation trip to Aronimink, referencing the attention his Masters preparation received earlier this year. When asked if he made just one visit to the PGA Championship venue, McIlroy smiled and said, “No, I lived there for a week. I just played it every day. I think that’s allowed.”
McIlroy later clarified that the trip was much shorter than his joke suggested, but he said the advance visit helped him learn important details about the golf course before tournament week.
Rory McIlroy’s preparation for the Masters drew headlines earlier this year and he just trolled everyone when asked about his preparation for Aronimink next week:
“I lived there for a week. Just played it every day. (Smiling.)”
Rory shot 67 today to currently climb inside the
“No, I went up and back in the same day,” McIlroy said. “And yeah, it was good to get a lot. We played the BMW there in 2018, but the course played a lot differently.”
McIlroy explained that conditions at Aronimink Golf Club were much firmer and faster compared to the 2018 BMW Championship.
“It was wet in 2018 and the greens didn’t play as fast or as severe as what I felt like they played last week when I played,” McIlroy said.
The Northern Irishman said the early scouting trip will also allow him to reduce the amount of practice he needs during PGA Championship week.
“It just means that the week of the tournament you’re not under pressure to play a lot of holes,” McIlroy said. “Historically the practice rounds at the PGA can be excruciatingly long so it’s probably going to just be nine holes Tuesday, nine holes Wednesday.”
McIlroy added that his practice round focused less on scorekeeping and more on strategy around the course.
“It was just like figuring out clubs off tees, lines off tees and putting to where I think the hole locations are going to be,” McIlroy said. “It was more of like a traditional practice round.”
The PGA Tour star also confirmed that a recent blister issue should not affect him next week.
“No, it’s fine yeah I’ll be okay,” McIlroy said.
GettyRory McIlroy of Northern Ireland
Although McIlroy finished the Truist Championship with a strong final round, he acknowledged that he continued battling a familiar swing tendency throughout the week.
“Ya exact same thing yeah,” McIlroy said when asked whether his left miss mirrored the issue he dealt with during the Masters earlier this season.
The problem resurfaced during the third round at Quail Hollow, where McIlroy shot 75 before rebounding Sunday with a 67.
“That’s sort of my bad habit at the minute and I just have to be aware of it,” McIlroy said. “I was much more aware of it and did a better job of managing it today.”
McIlroy credited a lengthy Saturday evening range session for helping him improve before the final round.
“I spent a good bit of time on the range last night just trying to straighten it out,” he said. “I think the range session last night was good. I figured out a couple of things.”
The 36-year-old plans to continue working on the issue before traveling back to Pennsylvania.
“I’m going to go home tonight, which will be nice, spend a night in my own bed and practice at home tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “Try to just sort of continue that feel and bring that up to Philadelphia for the rest of the week.”
McIlroy previously won at Quail Hollow multiple times and entered the Truist Championship as one of the featured names in the field. While he finished outside contention after an inconsistent third round, he now shifts his full attention toward the PGA Championship at Aronimink, where he hopes his early preparation and recent adjustments can carry into another major week.
Debayan Biswas Debayan Biswas is a sports writer at Heavy Sports covering NBA, NFL, Golf, and Soccer. His work has been syndicated on Yahoo Sports, Yardbarker, Flipboard, The Sun News, and The Olympian. Previously, he contributed to Athlon Sports, EssentiallySports, and PFSN. More about Debayan Biswas
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