Rory McIlroy is ready to risk getting his heart broken again in an attempt to find true links love at Royal Troon this week.
The Holywood star's decade-long wait for a fifth major came agonisingly close to finally ending at last month’s US Open at Pinehurst, only for a soul-destroying final-hole bogey to knock him off top spot and leave the door open for eventual champ Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy exited stage left not long after missing a short-but-slippery par putt on the 72nd hole to leave him in second place and hadn’t been seen in competitive action since until last weekend’s Scottish Open where he finished tied-fourth, four shots behind local lad, Bob McIntyre.
It’s 10 years since McIlroy won his only Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. He has hit the crossbar a number of times in recent renewals of the oldest tournament in the game, including a third-placed finish behind Cam Smith in 2022, while finishing sixth in 2023 behind winner Brian Harman.
The 35-year-old is ready to go again, however. He gets his first round of the 152nd Open Championship underway on Thursday, playing alongside American Max Homa and England’s Tyrrell Hatton. The trio are on the tee at 10.09am.
"One thing that I've done a really good job of over the past three or four years in the majors is I've been willing to have my heart be broken because I've put myself out there," McIlroy told RTÉ Sport’s Greg Allen.
"I've let myself be vulnerable and let myself get to that point, basically, of no return. I've experienced three of those Sundays in the last two or three years but that's what you need to do.
"You need to put yourself out there and be willing to get hurt. Because it's that fine margin of walking through that threshold of 'if this doesn't happen, it's really gonna suck. But if it does happen, it's gonna be awesome'.
"I've done a better job of just putting myself in the mix and putting it all out there. I did that at Pinehurst, it didn't work out. But I'd love to get that opportunity again this week and I know I'll be able to handle it better.
The ‘win-or-bust’ narrative around major championships – particularly for a player of McIlroy’s exquisite talent – can mean we overlook the consistency of the game’s top players. Nobody won more of the big four tournaments than Jack Nicklaus – and equally, nobody got themselves in the mix more often than the 18-time major-winning American.
"Jack Nicklaus finished second 19 times in major championships," added McIlroy. "I never like to say that I deserve things in golf, but I just think the more times you put yourself in those positions, sooner or later, the odds are going to fall in your favour and you're... and you're going to get one.
"I talked about having great resilience throughout my career, which I have done, and I'm very proud of those moments. But having these setbacks, not just make you resilient, but actually make you stronger and make you better.
"That's what I've been trying to focus on over the last three or four weeks after Pinehurst."
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