McIlroy: "Honestly, I don't know if I see myself going back to Europe this year"
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot on the 10th hole during a practice round for the World Golf Championship-FedEX St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind on July 29, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy admits he's likely to slam the door on the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and the European Tour this year as the COVID-19 pandemic makes him fearful of travel.
The world No 2 is keen to put four solid rounds together for the first time since he emerged from lockdown and contend for the WGC FedEx St Jude Invitational in Memphis as he counts down to next week's PGA Championship.
But when asked if he had any plans to return to Europe should the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open eventually get the green light, the Co Down man surprised few when he admitted he was highly reluctant to cross the pond again this year.
"I have no idea about the Irish Open," McIlroy said. "I have no clue. You know as much as me. And honestly, I don't know if I see myself going back to Europe this year.
"I don't know. I don't know if I want to travel, I don't know if I want to be exposed to more things and more people. So I don't know. I have no idea.
"I am taking it week by week and have my scheduled planned until after the US Open and I have no idea what I am going to do after that."
McIlroy admitted that while he understands why Lee Westwood and Eddie Pepperell are not travelling to San Francisco for next week's PGA Championship, he'd travel to Europe for a Major.
"I understand their plight because I'm just after saying I don't know if I would travel in the fall and go and play some of these other events in Europe, but if it was a major championship, it would probably be different and I probably would go over and play it," he said.
McIlroy's immediate focus is on TPC Southwind, where he led into the final round last year in his bounce-back event after the disappointment of The Open at Royal Portrush but finished five shots behind a swaggering Brooks Koepka.
"I just want to put four solid rounds together," he said. "I haven't really done that since coming back out of the lockdown. And if I do put four solid rounds together, then I know I'll have a chance to win."
He admitted that he learned from Koepka's aggressive attitude 12 months ago and used that as motivation to beat the Floridian when they faced off for the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup a few weeks later.
"I wasn't as aggressive as I probably should have been," McIlroy explained. "To see how Brooks approached it, I said after I won at East Lake that the biggest compliment I can give Brooks is I tried to be more like him today.
"If you have a chance to win a trophy, go out and grab it with both hands instead of letting it come to you."
McIlroy admits he’s struggled to adapt to the “new normal” of playing without spectators and went further yesterday when he said that one week now appears to blend into the next as events lose their unique flavour without galleries.
Asked if he felt like he was gearing up for the first major of the year, he said: “Not really. Again, I think all these tournaments are created by their atmosphere and everyone has a different feel, and every tournament since coming back off the lockdown has felt the same, whether it's the Colonial or the Travelers Championship or the Memorial or whatever it's been.
“It's the people and the atmosphere, that's what makes a tournament and when you don't have that, there's nothing really for them to differentiate themselves. Obviously the courses are different, setups are a little different, but at the end of the day, it's all sort of the same.”
While Tiger Woods is an absentee, McIlroy is joined by Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry, who will be buoyed by the return of his caddie Brian Martin, who lost his father but in turn became the father of a baby girl, for the first time since March.
The 78-man, no-cut event, formerly played at Firestone in Akron as the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, comes the week before the US PGA for the first time since 2016.
“I always enjoyed those two weeks,” said McIlroy, who won the Open, the WGC and the PGA in consecutive starts in 2014. “I did well, I did well going that way.”
On the European Tour, all eyes will be on Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez (56) as he makes a record 707th European Tour appearance in the Hero Open at the Marriott Forest of Arden, where he will be seeking his 22nd win.
"Over these 32 years it has been amazing, not only for the 707 tournaments I will reach this week," Jiménez said. "You never think about how many tournaments you will play in your life. I knew in the last couple of years - the way I am playing and feeling on the golf course – that this would be the next target, and here we are."
Meanwhile, the USGA confirmed yesterday that the 120th US Open will be staged without spectators at Winged Foot in New York from September 17-20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the US PGA and all events on the PGA Tour to be played without fans until the Tour Championship at least, all eyes are now on Augusta National and Masters Tournament, which has been moved to November.
