St Andrews will feel like the Open title defence I never had, says Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy is relishing the title defence he by no means experienced in the 150th Open up Championship at St Andrews.

McIlroy led from begin to end to win the 2014 Open up at Royal Liverpool, but was prevented from attempting to keep the Claret Jug on the Aged System the adhering to year following suffering an ankle injury playing football.

That implies it is 12 decades given that the earth range two past contested an Open up at St Andrews, when he began with a fantastic 63, slumped to a 2nd spherical of 80 in awful temperature and fought again to complete in a tie for third.

“I can not go into The Open approaching it like I’ve obtained unfinished company at this golf course,” McIlroy explained to TheOpen.com. “You know I really feel like there is enough tension on me anyway without the need of putting far more on myself.

“But it’s a person that I‘ve been looking ahead to for a very long, lengthy time – 12 many years. I want to just make guaranteed that I’m in the ideal achievable shape to go there.

“I’m actively playing properly, I’m playing some of the greatest golfing I’ve performed in a lengthy time. I’ve performed effectively in the majors this year with no finding the earn, but I’ve contended in all of them actually. So it is a fantastic possibility.”

McIlroy carded a closing 64 to finish runner-up to Scottie Scheffler in the Masters and was eighth in the US PGA and fifth in the US Open up, the latter overall performance coming a 7 days after his victory in the Canadian Open up.

“I have possibly one thing to verify to myself and other people, but the way I’m enjoying I truly feel like I’m likely in there with just as fantastic a chance I have experienced at an Open because I can try to remember,” McIlroy additional.

“Even the Open up that I gained in 2014 seems like a long time in the past now as perfectly. So I would appreciate to get my hands on another Claret Jug. All people talks about successful an Open Championship, and then profitable an Open up at St Andrews probably suggests that minimal bit additional.

“St Andrews will sense like the defence I hardly ever had, and then ideally I’m defending at Royal Liverpool yet again in 2023.”