Rory McIlroy admits the postponement of The Open has “put a dampener” on his golfing year.
The world No.1 tees it up behind closed doors today at The Memorial tournament in the US looking for his first win since coming out of lockdown.
Even playing alongside Tiger Woods can’t make up for the fact that golf’s focus should have been on Royal St George’s this week.
McIlroy said: “Being where we’re from The Open is the biggest golf tournament in the world. The big yellow leaderboards, the Claret Jug, everything that goes along with it.
“It’s a huge sporting occasion every summer, one that means an awful lot, and the fact it’s not on has put a dampener on things for sure.
“But it’s unprecedented times and hopefully things are back to normal this time next year and we’re able to get back to playing the oldest and arguably biggest golf tournament in the world.”
McIlroy, who won The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, concedes that he has struggled to find his best form in the three tournaments he has played Stateside without fans.
“Personally it’s very hard for me to keep focused out here,” he said. “I feel when there’s fans there’s that energy and atmosphere and it’s easy to get in that mindset you need.
“When you don’t have that I felt my mind was wandering a little bit. It was easy to lose focus, easy to lose concentration.
“You have to work really hard to keep your mind on the task and not let it wander. You don’t have that tunnel of people to keep you focused.”
But Paul McGinley reckons playing with Woods will return McIlroy to the heights he hit before the sport shutdown in the spring.
“I think the fact that Woods is in the field will bring a little more of an edge to him competitively," said Europe's former Ryder Cup captain. "I think that’s what we’re missing.”
