For all the time he spent in the rough over the weekend, Rory McIlroy says he is in a ‘good place’ going into the season’s second major.
No doubt that sense of comfort is drawn equally from the recency of the Masters and the forthcoming surroundings of the PGA Championship. Of all the courses on the circuit, none has been bent to McIlroy’s will quite like Quail Hollow over the years.
That he has won there four times will be a recurring talking point between now and Thursday’s first round, though there is also a minor question to ask about the performance of his strongest weapon.
It might qualify as nitpicking after a credible seventh-placed finish at the Truist Championship — his fifth straight top-10, including two wins — but missing 20 of 28 fairways in Philadelphia does point to room for improvement. In moderation of any concern, it should be highlighted that Quail Hollow, at a huge 7,626 yards, favours brute length over accuracy, which is precisely the way McIlroy plays.
His anxieties appear minimal ahead of the journey to Charlotte, North Carolina. ‘I think I’m in a good place,’ the world No 2 said. ‘I didn’t feel like I played all that well and I still finished seventh. Even what I feel is my bad golf, I’m still there or thereabouts.
‘A couple little improvements and little tweaks, especially going to a place I love like Quail Hollow, and I feel like I’m in a really good spot.’
On his driving, the world No 2 added: ‘I sort of struggled with this as well in Houston (the Houston Open in March, in which he was fifth), whenever we get these big, wide, open golf courses where there’s not a ton of definition. I think I would have hit more fairways if it had been tree lined.
‘I felt like I drove it a little better on the back nine on Sunday, which was good. Overall I felt like I got a little better as the week went on.
‘I’ve got a better gauge of where my game is standing here right now than I did at the start of the week. It was a good week for that. I wish I had gotten myself into contention a little bit more, but it was a good week, especially looking ahead to the PGA.’
In a battle of Ryder Cup team-mates, Sepp Straka beat Shane Lowry on the final hole for his second PGA Tour win of the season.
