RORY McILROY hopes his win at last week's Scottish Open will provide him with a great chance to end his major drought at the British Open this weekend.
The Holywood native beat home favourite Robert MacIntyre by a shot at the Renaissance Club on Sunday to win another title in golf. However it another major that Mcllroy wants.
McIlroy will now head to Royal Liverpool to try and win the Claret Jug, a title he first won in 2014. The 151st Open will begin on Thursday, with McIlroy looking to end his major drought.
The world number two also won the US PGA Championship in the same year. Before this, McIlroy won the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 PGA Championship.
Despite the lack of major success since 2014, McIlroy admitted that his exploits in Scotland could not have provided him with better preparation ahead of the British Open this weekend.
"I could not ask for better preparation," he told BBC Sport NI. "The way I played the last two holes (in Scotland) was an amazing finish and a perfect way to come into this week.
"I’ve had a great nine years and won a lot of tournaments, but the big four have eluded me. Hopefully this week that’s something I can change.
"It’s nice to be back here. It’s not like I think about it all that often, so it’s nice to come back and re-familiarise myself with the course. It’s nice to come back to a major venue you’ve won on, but it also makes you feel a bit old."
Rory’s closing eagle on Saturday at the 2014 Open Championship at Hoylake. Good memories 🥲🏆 #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/wbK6AyamcD
— Rory McIlroy Tracker (@RMTracker) July 17, 2023
Adding on what will change this weekend, McIlroy told Yahoo that he would look to keep things simple at St Andrews.
"It’s just golf. At the end of the day, I have to go out there and try to shoot the best score I can for four days in a row and hope that is one shot better than everyone else.
"I’m just trying to keep it as simple as possible, forget all the noise, forget everything else and just go out and enjoy myself more than anything else.
"The course is great. It’s in superb condition. It’s basically how I remember it. It’s a very strategic golf course off the tee. It’s very, very well bunkered and I think the biggest challenge of this golf course is avoiding those pot bunkers off the tee.
"It’s a very strategic golf course, which I like. You really have to think your way around it and whether you challenge the bunkers or not or lay back."
McIlroy will partner Ryder Cup teammates Jon Rahm and Justin Rose in the first two rounds, teeing off just before 3pm on Thursday."
