An indifferent 2017 has come to an end for Rory McIlroy, who insists he will leave no stone unturned in a bid to reclaim the title of the world’s best player.
The Northern Irishman, who last won a Major in 2014, finished his schedule with a 72 and a share of 63rd place at the Dunhill Links on Sunday as he prepares for intense work on his game during three months off from competitive golf.
‘So you know, it has not been a year — but I feel even though I haven’t won and the results haven’t been what I have wanted, I feel like I can still salvage something from the rest of the year,’ said McIlroy on Sunday.
‘Even though I’m not playing, I’ve given myself a lot of opportunity to put a lot of good foundations in place. That’s what I’m going to concentrate on from now until the end of the year.’
McIlroy has taken stock of his game and realises that he is far off the position where he should be.
‘There are a lot of areas of my game that need sharpening,’ said McIlroy, who has 21 wins to his name in a decade as a professional.
‘Wedge play, putting would be the two main areas that I need to get better. I feel like my iron play sort of came on the last few weeks.
‘I’ve been working a little bit on TrackMan, and you know, obviously saw some good signs last week at Close House [where he finished second to Irishman Paul Dunne]. I didn’t really play that well this week, but still, it was nice to feel like I was in the hunt at some stage at the end of the season there. Basically, all areas of my game could get a little bit better.
‘But you know what, that’s a few weeks away. I won’t start hitting balls until the end of November, so really the next few weeks is just in the gym and rehab and getting my body right to be able to go into that practice and be able to start 2018 strongly.’
Eighteen starts and no wins will ultimately define his 2017, but fans of the 28-year-old former world No 1 will be pleased to hear fighting talk from the four-time Major winner.
‘ I just feel with the experience I have now, I’m definitely a better player I feel, than the player who won some of those tournaments and some of those majors.
‘I’m a much better player now than I was in 2010 and 2012 when I was able to win a couple of Majors.
‘I see no reason why I can’t better that in the next ten years, and that’s why I feel like these three months are very important for me to put some really good things in place and step away, and just reassess everything and where I’m at, and where I need to be.’
The emergence of Justin Thomas to rival Jordan Spieth and current world No 1 Dustin Johnson will push McIlroy to raise his game, with the career slam on the line at Augusta in April 2018.
‘You know, the landscape of the game has changed a bit since I started to win majors. You’ve got young, hungry guys now that are fearless, basically, and they are playing the game how I basically came out and played a few years ago.
‘It’s just about trying to gain an advantage here or there, so just reassessing everything and making sure I’m sort of not leaving any stone unturned and do everything I can to get back to be the best player in the world.’
Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
