'I would like to just see good signs in my game' - Rory McIlroy plotting progress path for now at Memorial and US Open future
Rory McIlroy may joke about feeling “a bit like a part-timer these days” but the six-time major champion remains as serious as ever about his game and goals.
This week’s Memorial Tournament demands respect given 18-time major winner Jack Nicklaus stands as host but it will also serve as a final competitive outing for McIlroy before he tackles the third big stage of the season, with the US Open running from June 18 at New York’s Shinnecock Hills Golf Club.
McIlroy started his 14th bid to win at Muirfield Village with Thursday’s 71 featuring a birdies run but water woe and some issues off the tee, the latter a problem across 2026.
Ahead of the first round, McIlroy was asked about his preparations and hopes for Memorial as a build-up towards that third major.
“I feel a bit like a part-timer these days.,,I had a couple weeks off, we got ourselves settled into our house in London for the summer so it was nice to be over there for sort of like the last 10 days,” he said. “A little bit of practice...stopped off at Shinnecock on the way to here on Monday, scouted it a little bit and played.
“I missed this one last year, it's good to be back.”
After his first round, McIlroy reflected on his immediate form and with one eye on his major ambition as he declared how “overall, I felt like it was an improvement from what I've been seeing with the driver over the past few weeks”.
“I feel like I drove it pretty well,” he said. “Again, anytime I hit driver here I'm still feeling like I'm hitting into the narrowest part of the fairway.
"So I hit some good drives that didn't end up being in the fairway, but I felt like they were pretty good drives.
“I had a couple of bad ones...some of the lines you have to take with driver here, whether it's hitting up over trees or trying to cut corners, it's much easier just hitting into a nice straight strip on the range.
"So, yeah, just some of the looks out there are a bit different.”
When asked this week about how Memorial falls into his plans for the US Open, McIlroy was quick to praise Nicklaus’ event as “a wonderful tournament” but that “I haven't quite figured it out yet...it's frustrated me over my career” with the ambition “hopefully, this is the week that I put it all together”.
Towards the future, he outlined the target of “just to see good signs”.
“I would like to just see good signs in my game,” he said. “I think, if anything, the sort of long lag putting with a lot of break is something that is quite similar to Shinnecock...it's not similar around the greens because there's no thick ryegrass around the greens there.
"So I think if I'm happy with my ball striking and then just seeing big breaking putts and getting comfortable with that – and obviously getting myself into contention and giving myself a chance to win the tournament.”
His first round featured a double bogey but McIlroy offered an insight into his approach thanks to a long and successful career on the pro circuit.
“Just understanding that there's 69 more holes to go in the golf tournament,” he said on Thursday. “And there's a long way to go and a lot of things can happen.
"I've made plenty of double bogeys in my career and I've made plenty of double bogeys in tournaments that I've won.
"So you play enough events, you learn to ride the highs and the lows and not get too excited or too down either way.”
His drive to add a Memorial Tournament triumph in Ohio to his CV was emphasised at the start of the week when McIlroy discussed Nicklaus’ event and the Tiger Woods-hosted Genesis Invitational at Los Angeles’ Riviera Country Club.
“Here and Tiger's event at Riviera, they're the two that I would love to win,” said McIlroy. “I've been lucky enough to win at Bay Hill (Arnold Palmer Invitational, 2018), but not while Arnold was alive.
"So I always thought it would be cool to win here and take that little walk up the hill off the 18th green and shake Jack's hand.
"Also, Jack and I share a nice history...we've known each other now for nearly 20 years – or I've known him for nearly 20 years.
"He's been nothing but great to me and my family so, yeah, this is certainly one I would love to get done.”
When asked about his results history at Memorial, McIlroy felt “for being such a long golf course, I feel like it takes driver out of my hand a lot...which, you know, I pride myself on that being one of my biggest weapons”.
He added: “It's just about me being a little more disciplined and not being so aggressive with my strategy”.