An Irish winner would be the perfect tribute to Christy O’Connor Snr

Rory McIlroy will have returned to Ireland over the past couple of days with a lot on his mind.

As host of one of the European Tour’s largest events, his preparation time is already compromised by many time-consuming commitments, so McIlroy will understandably fret over his recent tournament form. It has fallen considerably short of his lofty standards, at a time when the world’s top-ranked golfer, Jason Day’s form has gone from strength to strength.

McIlroy, of course, knows better than most that a dominant streak can abruptly end but if he is to get back to winning ways consistently again, he has to quickly address his unforced tournament error count before it mentally eats into his game.