Rory McIlroy taking US PGA positives into Memorial Open in Ohio

The 33-year-old is preparing for the Memorial Open which starts on Thursday.

McIlroy faded from a first round lead to finish eighth on two under par at the US PGA last month as his eight-year major drought continued.

He will play at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, this week and knows there are still positives to be taken.

“It feels good. I feel like everything is going in the right direction. You know, I feel like Southern Hills was a missed opportunity but I have to take the positives from it,” he told a press conference in Ohio.

“I did some really good stuff that week. It’s just a matter of trying to build on that.

“I’m embarking on a four-week stretch here. So I’m going to playing a lot of golf coming up and I feel like my game is in good shape. So I’m excited for this run and excited to give myself a few more chances to hopefully win golf tournaments.

“I think like Muirfield and I have had a bit of a complicated relationship.

“It seemed to fit me quite well earlier in my career and then the last few years, I’ve sort of maybe struggled with the strategy of how to play it.

“Yeah, it’s great to be back at Memorial. I think it’s one of the guys’ favourite events on Tour. I think everyone looks forward to it, it’s great to be here.

“These big player-hosted Invitationals are a pretty big deal.”

Patrick Cantlay won last year’s event as he benefitted from Jon Rahm’s dramatic late exit.

Rahm was leading by six after 54 holes before being told on the 18th green after his third round he had tested positive for Covid and had to withdraw. He recovered to win the US Open 15 days later.