Rory McIlroy insists there is plenty of “good stuff” he can take from the Memorial Tournament into the US Open, although the world No 2 is fully aware of his driver issue heading into the next major.
McIlroy finished tied-12th after a weather-affected week at Muirfield Village, where he birdied five of the first six holes in a final-round 68 to finish eight strokes behind winner JT Poston.
The six-time major champion will now spend a few days in England before travelling to New York over the weekend, with McIlroy keen to build on the positives from his performance ahead of Shinnecock Hills.
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Relive Rory McIlroy’s top five shots from when he lifted his maiden major title at the US Open in 2011
“Sort of like two steps forward, one step back,” McIlroy assessed his week. “I actually felt like I played some of my best golf on Friday afternoon and we just got tough conditions – it was just hard coming in.
“Then yesterday [Saturday] felt like I left a few out there and then today [Sunday] as well after the fast start. It would have been nice to keep that going but wasn’t quite able to keep the momentum that I had on that front nine. Overall not a bad week, got some good stuff out of it.”
He added: “My iron play was better, wedge play was good. Off the tee still wasn’t where I want it to be. Thankfully the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here, but still need to work on that.
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McIlroy saw his ball bounce off a path and hit a tree, but somehow stay in play during the Memorial Tournament
“I need to work on how I’m hitting it off the tee. But everything else, putting felt pretty good, for the most part. Just [need to] try to keep getting a little bit better each and every day heading into Shinnecock.”
McIlroy has finished no higher than seventh in his three starts since becoming a back-to-back winner of The Masters, where he also struggled with inconsistency with the driver – an issue still impacting him heading into the key stretch of the season.
McIlroy continues to deal with issues off the tee heading into the US Open
The 37-year-old topped the driving distance statistics at the Memorial Tournament but sat tied-38th for driving accuracy, having found only 30 of the 56 fairways during the week, with McIlroy able to identify what he needs to address.
“I get a little bit underneath the plane on the way down and then from there I try to drag the handle to match it up, and then I get toe strikes,” McIlroy explained about his struggles off the tee.
“If I’m aiming a touch left trying to hit a cut and I get a touch underneath it and then I try to save it by dragging the handle, I hit it off the toe and then it goes left.
McIlroy is chasing a seventh major title, while a US Open victory would give him the third leg of the ‘double Grand Slam’
“Then if I try to hit one with a draw or pretty neutral, I’ll still get a little bit underneath it, and I’ll release it and it will overturn a little bit, but I have to try to get the club back out in front of me.
“Then when it gets out in front of me, if I do get it there, then it’s about having the right release pattern on the way through.
“I feel limited at the minute.”
Scheffler ‘comfortable’ with game despite ‘frustrating’ week
McIlroy will be among the pre-tournament favourites to win the US Open, 15 years on from claiming his maiden major victory at an event where he has finished inside the top 20 in each of the last seven editions.
Scottie Scheffler will have the opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam at Shinnecock Hills, having missed out on winning the Memorial for a third consecutive year after finishing tied-12th alongside McIlroy.
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Scottie Scheffler had a heated exchange with caddie Ted Scott after finding the water from a tee shot during the Memorial Tournament
“I would say pretty frustrating,” Scheffler said about his week, where he carded rounds of 73, 72, 68 and 71. “But the way I played the last two days, I definitely feel a lot better with kind of where things are at than I did coming off the course on Friday.
“I started hitting some good shots on the back nine Friday, and then I played decent the last couple days. I just wasn’t sharp enough to make the big move that I needed to make.
“Just couldn’t really get anything going. Just little things, little mistakes that I don’t typically make, I felt like I was making this week. So a few things to clean up in the off week, but overall I feel pretty comfortable with where my game is at.”
Who will win the US Open? Watch Scheffler and McIlroy headline the third men’s major of the year, exclusively live from June 18-21 on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract.
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