The 151st Open: Rory McIlroy says he is ‘close as ever’ to ending major drought at Royal Liverpool | Golf News

Rory McIlroy won the US Open in 2011, the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014, the same year he won The Open, but hasn’t added to his major tally since; McIlroy is playing the Scottish Open ahead of The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool from July 20-23 – both live on Sky Sports Golf

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World No 3 Rory McIlroy says he is confident his game is in a good place as he targets a second Open Championship title at Royal Liverpool next week

Rory McIlroy insists he won’t get carried away about expectations for him to end his nine-year winless major drought at The 151st Open next week.

McIlroy is among the pre-tournament favourites for the final men’s major of the year, exclusively live on Sky Sports, as The Open returns to Royal Liverpool for the first time since the Northern Irishman completed the third leg of the career Grand Slam in 2014.

The former world No 1 produced a wire-to-wire victory in Hoylake and added the PGA Championship a month later but has been unable to add to his four majors since, despite posting 19 major top-10s during that period.

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The waiting is almost over for the final men’s major of the year, with round-the-clock coverage from The 151st Open at Royal Liverpool live from July 20-23 on Sky Sports Golf

“I sort of dealt with that [expectation] at Augusta this year,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “Felt like my game was in really good shape but I didn’t produce what I needed to produce the first two days, and that was disappointing.

“I think I learned a lot from that and just about playing a golf tournament. 72 holes is a long time. A lot can happen. It’s a journey. It’s a journey to get yourself into contention, and to be there on Sunday afternoon, and there’s a lot of golf shots to be hit and a lot of golf to be played.

“The worst thing you can do in this game is get ahead of yourself.”

McIlroy missed the cut at The Masters in April but has posted top-seven finishes in his last five worldwide starts, including second spot at the US Open last month, with the 34-year-old aiming to build on the near-miss there and at The Open last summer at St Andrews.

“I’m as close as I’ve ever been [to winning another major], really,” McIlroy added. “My consistency in the performances, especially in the majors over the last couple years is way better than it has been over the last few years.

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Watch how Rory McIlroy missed out on a first major in nine years after falling one shot short in the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club

“I’m really pleased at that but at the same time, had a really good chance at St Andrews and had a really good chance in Los Angeles a few weeks ago.

“I need to keep putting myself in those positions obviously and the more times I go through them and just gaining that experience, even though I’m not getting the wins, it’s going to stand by me for whenever I get myself in position again.”

McIlroy returns to action this week at the Genesis Scottish Open, an event he skipped in 2022, with the world No 3 looking to use the co-sanctioned event as competitive prep ahead of next week’s major.

“I played four weeks in a row and then having two weeks off where I took at least the first week of that two weeks completely off,” McIlroy explained. “I didn’t touch a club for a little bit after that four-week stretch.

Rory McIlroy is part of a strong field in Scotland, where eight of the world’s top 10 feature

“I think just to get some competitive golf under my belt, get a scorecard in my hand and play. It’s not pure links at this place, but it’s linksy enough conditions that at least you’re playing in a bit of breeze and you’re maybe getting some visuals that you would get at a links course.

“All of that will obviously be good with one eye towards next week and The Open. But still, it’s a big tournament and I can sort of make points on both sides of the pond looking later down the line at the end of the year for FedExCup and Race to Dubai and all that stuff. I think this week serves a few purposes.”

Watch the Genesis Scottish Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 8am on Sky Sports Golf, ahead of full coverage from 12.30pm. The Open is then live from July 20-23 on Sky Sports Golf.