LUKE DONALD TOOK a break from the intense pressures of chasing golfing Majors to play a Pro-Am round of golf with former Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher.
Urlacher, NFL’s Rookie of the Year in 2000, could have told Rory McIlroy all about the pressures of living up to high expectations but Northern Irishman has figured that out for himself.
The world number three, who began the year at number one, has endured a tough eight months but showed signs at last weekend’s USPGA that he might be about to turn the corner. He was an outside bet for a title charge on Sunday and eventually finished in eigth position, picking up more than $200k in the process.
A triple-bogey, after he found water on the fifth hole, scuttled his championship challenge. Undeterred, McIlroy reeled off birdies to climb back up the leaderboard and insisted his golf in the closing round was his best of the week.
“I hit some really good drives and really good iron shots,” he said. “Didn’t quite putt as well as I did the first three days, but [I am] really, really happy with my game going into the next few weeks.” Asked if he saw signs of improvement in his game, McIlroy responded:
Very big, I saw a lot of great signs out there. Hopefully I can just bring that through to the next few weeks and have a strong finish to the season.”
Next up for the Holywood native is The Barclays in New Jersey and the Deutsche Bank Championship in Massachusetts. He won the latter of the two tournaments in 2012 before picking up a $1.4m cheque by clinching the BMW Championship in Chicago two weeks later.
Finish down the leaderboard in the next three events on his calendar and McIlroy could slip out of the world’s top five. McIlroy, however, is not interested in holding his own. He is targeting wins.
