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8/17/2015

McIlroy Happy With Comeback

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Rory McIlroy was pleased with his comeback at the US PGA Championship despite not being able to defend his title at Whistling Straits.

Coming into the tournament, the 26 year old had not played a competitive round since a closing 66 at the US Open Championship at Chambers Bay after suffering ankle ligament damage whilst playing football with friends in early July.

But he finished 17th in Wisconsin after rounds of 71-71-68-69 and is confident he will be back to his best soon.

"I feel like I did well," he said "Obviously coming back after the lay-off, not hitting a competitive shot in two months, shooting nine under was a decent effort.

"I didn't see 19 under winning this week. I thought something between ten and 15 but it just shows you how high the standard is these days.

"But first week, coming back, I thought I did pretty well."

He added: "The ankle is fine. We came up with a plan that after this week I could take a couple of weeks off just in case anything did happen or there were any setbacks.

"It feels fine, but I'm just going to take a couple of weeks off and not need a strap or anything to play. And then after that I've got another week off, so by the time I'm in the middle of September, there will be no issues and hopefully I can give it a good run in the FedEx Cup.

"I felt like I gave it a good run this week and the ankle is in good shape.

"Overnight the ankle did swell a bit, but once I got it moving and compressed it a bit, it was fine. It probably won't look like a normal ankle for two or three months, but there is no pain in it, which is the main thing."

The Northern Irishman began his round on Sunday with five pars but made a sensational up and down from the rough to make birdie on the sixth and followed that with another on the seventh.

Another gain was made on the tenth and, despite dropping a shot on the 13th, McIlroy picked up another on the 16th and feels his game will come back together as he plays more often.

"I just need to sharpen up," he said. "I feel like ball striking-wise, tee to green, it's there. And it's sort of been there all year. If anything, just around the greens (I've got to be) being more efficient, really. When I give myself opportunities inside, wedges in my hand, I've got to take advantage of those.

"And today is a prime example, it's my fourth day of competitive playing, getting those two balls up and down on 17 and 18, that's something just playing a bit more and just having experience with certain shots and certain lies.

"That all just comes with playing a bit more."

8/12/2015

McIlroy Praises Lowry Steel

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Rory McIlroy praised the "ballsy" performance of his friend Shane Lowry at the weekend in Akron after the Offaly man claimed victory at the Bridgestone Invitational at the weekend.

Showing nerves of steel to hold off the challenge of three Major winners to secure the biggest win of his career and a cheque for €1.45m, McIlroy was watching on was impressed by the resolve shown by his fellow Irish golfer.

"Shane's victory was fantastic," he said. "I played 18 on Sunday morning and came back to the house we are renting to watch it.

"Once he got into the lead, he hit a couple of wonder shots- that shot on 10, which was incredible. And he holed some big par putt putts down the stretch

"I texted him and said it was a pretty ballsy victory. And yes, he could be in the Olympics too, depending on how everything goes the next 52 weeks."

McIlroy has spent the past few days practising on the Wisconsin course, having been sidelined since early July when he suffered a rupture of his left ankle ligaments during a game of football with friends.

"If anything, my ankle feels even better when I swing hard," he told the Daily Mail.

The 26-year-old's injury ruled him out of the Scottish Open and the defence of his Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational titles, but he has been playing since the Monday that Zach Johnson inherited his Open crown.

"I've played a lot of golf since then, just finding the middle of the clubface again," he said. "And I've been chipping and putting basically since it happened, with my protective boot on...

"I did think about coming back last week at the Bridgestone but Steve (McGregor, his fitness coach) held me back. He thought it important for me to basically play a tournament behind closed doors and after I completed that successfully, it felt the right time to come.

"I'm ready to play and I expect to do well."

The four-time major winner has been paired with Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson for the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday.

He has not played a competitive round since a closing 66 in the US Open at Chambers Bay on June 21.

"Obviously it's important to remain world number one, I've made that clear. It's been a year since I got it back,"

"But it's just about playing well and winning tournaments and that's my main focus this week."

In his absence McIlroy has seen others such as Lowry make progress and he was quick to praise the 28-year-old for his victory in Bridgestone - even if he is now another rival.

8/11/2015

Rory is PGA Contender - Clarke

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Darren Clarke believes Rory McIlroy can contend for a fifth major title this week, despite his long injury lay-off.

McIlroy's last competitive round was a closing 66 in the US Open on June 21, the world No 1 then rupturing a ligament in his left ankle during a game of football with friends on July 4.

The 26-year-old was forced to miss the defence of his Open title at St Andrews and last week's Bridgestone Invitational, but has confounded expectations by declaring himself ready to defend his US PGA crown at Whistling Straits.

"No, I'm not surprised to see him back here," Clarke said. "He obviously has got a wonderful team around him and he would have done everything he could to get back as quickly as possible.

"I'm sure with an ankle injury he would have been advised not to come back until fully fit. If you injure an ankle and keep playing on it, it gets worse and worse and worse.

"He may not be competitively sharp, for obvious reasons, but he's world No 1. He's done many amazing things in his young career, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him contending this week."

Clarke has backed the European Tour's decision to withdraw the Bridgestone Invitational from its 2016 schedule, even though that creates a dilemma for potential team members.

A re-working of the PGA Tour's 2016 calendar to accommodate golf's return to the Olympics has seen the prestigious World Golf Championship event brought forward to the end of June, bring it in to direct conflict with the Alstom Open de France.

The European Tour then withdrew its sanction of the WGC event at Firestone Country Club, meaning money won in Akron will not count for Ryder Cup points or towards the Race to Dubai.

Shane Lowry will undoubtedly want to defend the title he won on Sunday, but he and others could be in need of Ryder Cup points at that time, with the qualifying race set to end on August 28 in Denmark.

"It's a tough decision for Shane, he won his first World Golf Championship at Firestone and he may have a decision to make come next summer," Clarke added. "But in terms of what the European Tour has done, I think they've done the right thing by standing beside one of their mainstays.

"The French Open is steeped in history, around a wonderful venue that we have the 2018 Ryder Cup around. They've showed loyalty to the French Open and rightly so."

8/10/2015

Spieth Relishes Rory Return

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Jordan Spieth is relishing the prospect of Rory McIlroy returning from injury in time for next week's US PGA Championship at Whistling Straits.

Spieth would have replaced McIlroy at the top of the world rankings with victory at this week's WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, but finished in a tie for 10th despite posting a four-under 66 during the final round.

The Masters and US Open champion has been grouped with the world No 1 for the first two rounds at Whistling Straits, with Spieth delighted that McIlroy appears set to return from injury in time to defend his title.

"It's going to be great," Spieth told Sky Sports 4. "I'm very, very happy that he is back, everybody is. He certainly takes the interest in the game to a different level.

"It will be cool to battle it out with him hopefully for the No 1 spot if it comes down to Sunday. I am certainly ready to be in that position and hopefully we can do so."

McIlroy played full practice rounds on Saturday and Sunday at Whistling Straits, telling reporters that his rehabilitated left ankle was a “non-issue”.

"Obviously, getting around a golf course like this, playing 18 holes, it felt fine," McIlroy told the Golf Channel. "I've come a long way in five weeks. This has been the five-week mark today from when I did it."

Shane Lowry Now Nineteen

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Shane Lowry heads into this week’s US PGA Championship at a career-high 19th in the world after claiming the biggest victory of his career in brilliant fashion in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

Lowry carded a flawless final round of 66 at Firestone Country Club to finish 11 under par, two shots ahead of double Masters champion Bubba Watson, with former US Open champions Justin Rose and Jim Furyk another two shots back.

“It’s hard to believe but I played good today,” Lowry told Sky Sports 4. “I was quite nervous out there towards the end but made a lot of good decisions, hit the ball well and got a bit of luck as well which was nice.

“It’s great to be able to pull something off. I was kind of doubting myself a little this year, things haven’t been going my way but when you come out the other end it’s always nice.”

Lowry began the final round two shots off the lead but wiped out the deficit with birdies on the second and eighth before a spectacular recovery over the trees on the 10th set up another from two feet.

That gave the 28-year-old a two-shot lead and although Watson twice closed within a shot, Lowry found himself needing to par the last two holes for victory.

After his approach to the 17th ran up against the collar of rough Lowry produced an excellent chip and held his nerve to hole from five feet, but looked to be in trouble when he pulled his tee shot on the last into the trees.

However, the former Irish Open champion – he was still an amateur when he won the title in 2009 – found a good lie in the rough and powered a wedge over the trees to 11 feet, from where he holed for a birdie to make certain of the first prize of 1,570,000 US dollars.

“I was trying to get it on the front right of the green but pulled it a little bit, it went through the tree and rest is history,” added Lowry, who missed the cut on his US PGA debut at Whistling Straits in 2010.

8/09/2015

McIlroy Declares PGA Fitness

Rory McIlroy effectively declared himself fit for his title defence in next week’s PGA Championship at Whistling Straits when he told Golf Channel on Sunday that his rehabilitated left ankle was a “non-issue”.

The Northern Irishman, out of action since he ruptured a ligament in his ankle while playing soccer with friends on July 4th, spoke after playing 18 holes of practice for a second day in a row at the venue in Kohler, Wisconsin.

After his first practice round at Whistling Straits on Saturday, where he was seen scampering up the hills on the undulating layout, McIlroy told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel his ankle was “good” before he headed off to the parking lot.

Obviously, getting around a golf course like this, playing 18 holes, it felt fine,” the four-times major winner said. “I’ve come a long way in five weeks. This has been the five-week mark today from when I did it.”

McIlroy, 26, does not have to commit to the PGA Championship, which starts on Thursday, until his official tee time for the opening round.

He has been grouped with Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth and British Open winner Zach Johnson for the first two rounds of the PGA, the year’s final major.

Should McIlroy tee off as expected on Thursday, it would be just 40 days since he suffered an injury that some medical experts said might take about three months to heal.

It also would be more than seven weeks since McIlroy tied for ninth in the US Open at Chambers Bay in his most recent competitive start and would give the PGA Championship a huge boost.

8/08/2015

Rory Whistles While He Works

Photo: James Haddock

Rory McIlroy stepped up his bid to play in next week's US PGA Championship by playing a practice round at Whistling Straits on Saturday.

The world No 1 has been sidelined for the last month after rupturing ligaments in his ankle while playing football with his friends.

That injury forced him to miss the defence of his Open title at St Andrews, but he published videos of a training session earlier in the week before heading to Wisconsin.

Speculation that McIlroy would play in the final major championship of the season stepped up a notch on Friday when he was handed a 1.20pm local time (7.20pm BST) grouping for Thursday's opening round.

The Irishman will, assuming he is fit to play, go out alongside Masters and US Open champion Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, who claimed the Claret Jug in thrilling fashion last month.

McIlroy enjoyed success on his last visit to Whistling Straits, a tough links-style course, when he finished third at the 2010 US PGA, one shot away from getting into the three-hole play-off Martin Kaymer went on to win.

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