Killarney has Rory’s vote as he gets back into swing

A ROUND with the Taoiseach and reports of a glamorous new girlfriend suggest a young US Open champion living the high life but Rory McIlroy is ready to learn again from his Major disappointments.

It is now the consensus opinion that the 22-year-old from Holywood needed to lose the Masters in April in order to triumph 10 weeks later at Congressional Country Club and having flapped in the wind at Royal St George’s two weekends ago as fellow Irishman Darren Clarke won the British Open, McIlroy is busy putting his game back together for a three-week run on his preferred parkland courses.

That stretch starts today at the Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland 2011 and will continue via the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational to the final Major of the year, the PGA Championship in Atlanta.