Rory McIlroy described himself as 'bad at golf' and admitted he has a flaw to fix ahead of The Open after a disappointing showing at the Genesis Scottish Open.
Final-Round 64 Not Enough
The Northern Irish superstar carded an impressive final-round 64, but it was not enough to climb back into title contention at the Renaissance Club. McIlroy, the World No.2, was joint-leader at the halfway stage but suffered from weather delays that disrupted Saturday's play, leaving him waiting until after 6pm to start his third round.
He lost his way in the evening fog, making uncharacteristic mistakes over the eight holes he managed before play was suspended again. He returned at 7am on Sunday to complete the final 10 holes, shooting level par to sit six shots behind the leader before his afternoon surge.
Moment of Frustration
Despite the strong finish, McIlroy was not satisfied, and a wild approach shot into the 16th hole summed up his frustration. As the ball sailed towards the rough, he was heard exclaiming, 'Oh my God, I'm so bad at golf,' in a sarcastic barb at his own blunder.
After the round, he explained: 'The shot I hit with that six-iron was a very, very poor golf shot, so in that moment, I was so bad at golf.'
Work Ahead for The Open
McIlroy believes he can take momentum from the 64 but acknowledged the need for improvement. 'It's nice to sign this week off with a good score, but I know I need to do a bit of work between now and next Thursday to feel really comfortable with my game,' he said.
He added: 'I felt like I was pretty much in control of everything after the first two days. Then had a long day yesterday waiting around. I didn't get off to the best of starts, then didn't finish the third round off particularly well. I sort of pieced it together and realised what I was doing, tried to figure it out on the range before I went out for my final round.
'At least I know what I am doing. It's a matter of sort of rectifying it. I don't feel like it's too far away. There's definitely some positive signs. I know what the problem is and it's just about fixing it. Obviously there was some good in there today, but there was some bad as well. So I am going to need to work a little bit over the next couple of days to be ready for Thursday.'
Confidence in Fixing the Issue
The 37-year-old, who won the Masters earlier in his career, is confident he can iron out the issues before his bid for a second Open title at Royal Birkdale. Asked if he can get his game in shape, he replied: 'Yeah, I think so. I think I just need to hit some balls in a right-to-left wind. That usually helps me.'
He elaborated: 'It's the same thing I get when I start hitting balls in a left-to-right wind, like it has been on the range over the weekend. My path and my face just get too far apart. Like my face is just aiming a lot further left than my path is and I start hitting these left shots, especially with the irons.
'So it was feeling good coming in here and it was good. I hit some really good iron shots over the first couple of days. But, the more I hit balls in a left-to-right wind, the more that starts to show itself and then it's a bit of a struggle.'
