Rory McIlroy finished the THE PLAYERS Championship with a 71 on Sunday. He ended his participation much earlier than he would have liked and far from the positions he aims for whenever he competes. The week went wrong even before it began, when a back problem forced him to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational and effectively reduced his preparation for the Sawgrass tournament to almost nothing. Despite everything, the Northern Irishman can see the positive: “Happy to have been able to complete the four days and that my body feels good”
McIlroy was the defending champion, so you can imagine his expectations were much higher than finishing in the forties. Even so, he believes his tee-to-green level has been more than notable and he only missed more help on the greens. “My game improved little by little as the week went on, although the results probably didn’t reflect that over the weekend. I struck the ball well. I simply didn’t hole anything on the greens,” he says
Like everyone, Rory already has his eyes on the Masters. He says there are a couple of things he’s realised he needs to work on, although he won’t reveal them. He also hasn’t decided whether he’ll play any tournaments before the big date at Augusta where he will also defend the title. “I haven’t made a decision one way or the other. I’ll see how my body responds. We’ll see how I feel when training and at home, and if at home I feel like competing, I might add a tournament at some point” The truth is he doesn’t seem inclined to play right now; in fact he had even forgotten that this Tuesday he plays the semifinals of the TGL
He was asked about Ludvig Aberg, a team-mate in the Ryder Cup and the clear leader at THE PLAYERS when Rory finished his round. Not yet knowing whether he would be able to close it out and take the victory, McIlroy heaped praise on the Swede. You could almost say he gushes when he talks about him
“I admire practically everything about him. His pace of play. Once he addresses the ball, he is very decisive. Obviously he has a lovely swing. He seems to play with a lot of freedom. Watching a bit of golf yesterday afternoon, he’s always smiling out there. He seems to find a lot of joy in playing this sport, and it feels like he and Joe, his caddie, always have good conversations and share a laugh on the course, and that’s important too,” he points out
In that respect, attitude is perhaps what he values most about the Swede. “At the Ryder Cup we could see that he is very unflappable. He’s very relaxed, ridiculously relaxed, which is a very good thing, especially in environments like the Ryder Cup,” he suggests. And he adds: “I think at 36 and after a 17 or 18-year career it’s easier to be a bit more relaxed than when you’re 26. He’s only been a professional for three years. I certainly wasn’t as relaxed at that point as he is. It’s something very admirable,” he details
Finally, regarding the setup of THE PLAYERS, Rory emphasised the PGA Tour’s intention to make it tougher. “The rough was clearly longer. They tried to make the greens firm and fast, and they are fairly firm. I think Thursday’s rain took a lot of the speed off them. They’re slower than they look. I felt it was quite hard to get to the hole over the last two days. They look dry, almost burnt. They seem scorched. But actually they still have quite a lot of grass”
