Rory McIlroy said he is coming into the 152nd Open at Royal Troon with confidence after turning his U.S. Open disappointment into motivation for the year's final Major.
Searching for his first Major championship win in ten years, the World Number Two has two victories to his name already this season but took a few weeks off after coming up agonisingly short of realising a fifth Major title at the U.S. Open, won by Bryson DeChambeau.
Speaking to media on Tuesday, McIlroy said that while the initial loss - and in particular the missed putts on 16 and 18 that saw him finish one behind DeChambeau - took him a few days to get over, it wasn't long until he turned that disappointment into motivation and perspective on why he wasn't able to close it out down the stretch.
"I would say maybe like three or four days after, went from being very disappointed and dejected to trying to focus on the positives to then wanting to learn from the negatives and then getting to the point where you become enthusiastic and motivated to go again," he said.
"So it probably took three, four, five days. It's funny how your mindset can go from I don't want to see a golf course for a month to like four days later being can't wait to get another shot at it. When that disappointment turns to motivation, that's when it's time to go again. But, yeah, three, four days.
"I think the last few holes of a major championship with a great chance to win, if you're not feeling it, then it probably doesn't mean as much to you as it should.
"It was just more a disappointment that I didn't handle those uneasy feelings as good as I could have. I alluded to this. I was probably more aware than I should have been of what was happening behind me and sort of got out of my own little head space a little too much. That was a big part of the reason why I didn't close it out coming down the stretch."
And while disappointing, his runner-up finish was just the latest in a string of impressive results for the World Number Two, which include a victory and no worse a finish than tied 15th in his last five starts worldwide.
The most recent of those came on his return to last week's Genesis Scottish Open, where he finished in a tie for fourth during his title defence and led the field in strokes gained off the tee.
That result not only helped McIlroy get re-acclimatised to playing on a links-style course following a mental reset after Pinehurst, but also reaffirmed that his game is in a strong place heading into this week at Royal Troon.
"I feel like preparations have been going well. I feel like preparations probably started last week at the Renaissance.
"Game's in really good shape. Had a nice reset after Pinehurst that was needed and felt like I shook off a little bit of the rust last week and played okay.
"Felt like I probably could have given myself more of a chance to win the tournament. I thought it was a solid week. Again, it's like one eye on preparing for this week, but another eye on trying to get into contention as well.
"Just getting myself familiar again with links conditions, links turf, green speeds. Obviously we play a majority of our golf in the States and green surfaces that are quite different to here. So just trying to get, I guess, reacclimated to that. Not that -- obviously grew up playing a lot of links golf, but when you only come back to play once or twice a year, it just takes you a little time to adapt.
"Yeah, it's been going well. Got my first look at the golf course this morning early. It's basically a tale of two nines on this course. You feel like you have to make your score on the way out and then sort of hang on coming in. Looking forward to the week. The course is in great shape."
One big facet of that preparation for McIlroy has been getting comfortable with the slower green speeds on links courses, one of the only parts of the game where he ranked negatively in strokes gained at The Renaissance Club.
On Tuesday, McIlroy had putting coach Brad Faxon with him on the course while also leaning on Ryder Cup Captain Luke Donald for a bit of advice.
"I don't like to tinker too much with the putter. Fax was out there walking with me this morning, and so was Luke Donald. I asked Luke -- I really try to focus on the strike more than anything else here and put a good roll on it because any putt here that's misstruck just doesn't get to the hole.
"So I sort of picked Luke's brain a little bit, and he always said he liked to focus on the tempo of his stroke and really, if anything, make it a little shorter and a little brisker on greens like this. So that's something that -- you know, the strike and maybe just think a little bit more about the tempo of the stroke, two good things this week."
With preparation now under way, the one thing McIlroy said he won't be worrying about is the constant speculation as to whether he'll win another Major.
In the last three years alone McIlroy has eight top tens in his last 11 Major starts, which includes back-to-back runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open and a runner-up finish at the Masters in 2022.
One of the closest calls came when he finished tied third at St Andrews in 2022, and with six top tens in his last nine starts in The Open - including a tie for fifth at Royal Troon in 2016 - speculation has never been louder when it comes to when or if McIlroy will achieve his first Major since the 2014 US PGA Championship.
Yet McIlroy is quite happy to leave that worry up to the media, with the knowledge that the he has
"It doesn't bother me. I know that I'm in a good spot. If I think about 2015 through 2020, that five-year stretch I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in that five-year period. So I'd much rather have these close calls. It means that I'm getting closer.
"I'd love to be able to play the golf and get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, well, when are you going to win your sixth? So it's never ending."
