Rory McIlroy's US PGA major strategy built on both 'super aggressive' and 'little more strategy' styles

As host course to this week’s major for only the second time since a 1962 debut, McIlroy used a recent window to familiarise himself with the challenges as he attempts to follow Masters glory with success in the second major of the season.

“I played two Fridays ago I guess it was...we played here back in 2018 at the BMW,” said McIlroy. “I don't think the course necessarily played the way it will play this week...it was very wet that week.

"It looks like there's going to be a little bit of rain Thursday night into Friday morning...for the most part, it should be a bit drier, which really brings out the character of the greens.

"The greens seem to be the big defence and the big talking point of the golf course.

“We played Philly Cricket Club last year for a PGA TOUR event, it reminds me a little of that...very wide playing corridors, still got to get the ball on the fairway, the rough is sort of hit-and-miss but you can get some bad lies.

"You know, they can really tuck the pins away with some of these slopes on the greens and just really being aware of that.

"I think from 2018 to then playing a couple weeks ago – and I don't know if I'd forgotten or the course didn't play this way – but if you get yourself above the hole or you start to short-side yourself, you can get yourself in some tricky spots.

"But keeping the ball below the hole...yeah, it's a course where you can be super aggressive off the tee and then there's a little more strategy and a little more thought going into the greens.”

McIlroy celebrated success with The Rodman Wanamaker Trophy in 2012 and 2014, with both tournament triumphs when the US PGA Championship held a calendar slot in August before a May switch from 2019. “Honestly, since the tournament has moved to May my results haven't been that great here at the PGA,” he said. "Yeah, I feel like it's a very tight window between the Masters and this tournament.

"Obviously this used to be in August, I think you had the ability to maybe go to March.

"August maybe provided more of an opportunity to come to the north-east a little more often. “It's a different proposition nowadays that it's in May than it was in August and there's pros and cons to that.”

McIlroy returned to competitive play last week for the first time since securing back-to-back Masters green jackets at Augusta over April.

An appearance at Quail Hollow in the Truist Championship provided McIlroy a setting he enjoys having won on four occasions previously at the Charlotte venue.

"I think the schedule is so condensed and it's really just trying to figure out what the best lead-in is,” he said. “For me, I'm never going to miss Quail Hollow last week.

"It's a place I love to play, it's one of my favourite tournaments of the year and it seems like that is going to be the event leading into this week...Quail Hollow, PGA that's okay with me.