'It’s basically open season': Rory McIlroy hoping to make the most of 'smaller version of Oak Hill' set-up in Truist Championship defence

​Relocated from a traditional home of Quail Hollow due to its staging of the upcoming PGA Championship, McIlroy kicks off his title defence at the Wissahickon Course this evening with a mindset of “just hit driver everywhere and then figure it out from there”.

Given McIlroy ranks third on the PGA Tour in terms of average driving length (317.5 yards) and sits top of the charts when it comes to the off-the-tee category, it should be a course where the newly-crowned Masters champion can enjoy significant success.

"Yeah, you can send it,” said McIlroy ahead of his first round. “Every bunker seems to be about 300 to 310 to carry, which is thankfully fine.

"There's one bunker on nine that's 331, but it's down like 10, so it's like 320 equivalent.

"That's the longest one to try to get over. In good conditions I can, if it's calm or a little bit of help.

“Yeah, it's basically open season. The way -- I go back to Oak Hill a couple years ago at the PGA, and I tried to play the golf course strategically over the first couple of days, and I just realised that these new renovated old school courses, like the strategy is just hit driver everywhere and then figure it out from there.

"That's sort of the strategy of this place this week.

“It's very similar to a lot of these old school courses that have been renovated over the past few years.

"A lot of trees have been taken out. The green complexes are, for me, the interesting thing about the golf course.

“It sort of to me feels like a smaller version of Oak Hill, not a lot of strategy off the tee because there's no real hazards.

"There's some fairway bunkers, but if you avoid those, the rough's not that long so it's not a huge penalty.

“A little simple off the tee, I guess, is the best way to describe it...a shorter version of Oak Hill is sort of how I see the course.”