Unburdened Rory set to go birdie hunting

Rory McIlroy will go into today’s Irish Open first round at the Fota Island Resort unburdened by matters Olympic and determined to finally make a mark on his national Open.

Two top-10 finishes in six Irish Open starts is not much to show for a golfer as gifted as McIlroy who said yesterday he has now learned to embrace all the demands on his time this European Tour event can make on a home participant.

Accepting this event, warts and all, will be a help, as will the relief that came with ending all that speculation over his choice of team for the 2016 Olympics and the incentive of Race To Dubai and world ranking points.

And after the gruelling time he experienced on the burnt out fairways and treacherous greens of Pinehurst No.2 at last week’s US Open, the relatively benign and green surroundings of Fota Island’s Deerpark course should be a welcome haven for the BMW PGA champion of just a month ago.

“It’s not exactly where I want it to be,” McIlroy said of his game, but added: “The win at Wentworth a few weeks ago was great. The last couple of tournaments, Memorial and US Open were, again, flashes of good stuff. Fell away at the weekend at the US Open, which was quite disappointing. But I’ve got a new event right now. I focus on the Irish Open and there’s a lot to play for me this week personally. I’ve got a chance to go to the top of the Race To Dubai and a chance to get back into the top five in the world, so it’s not a week I’m taking lightly.

“I want to come here and put my best foot forward and try to get another win.”

Pádraig Harrington, grouped with McIlroy and Scotland’s world

number 36 Stephen Gallacher in a marquee group teeing off from the 10th tee at 7:50am, spoke of the benefits of the Irish Open feeling almost like a major for the home players. Yesterday Graeme McDowell, playing with Shane Lowry and holder Paul Casey at 12:50pm, said he liked to avoid the hullabaloo a bit and this week went to play Open Championship venue Hoylake, delaying his arrival until the eve of the tournament.

McIlroy said he was now leaning more towards Harrington’s way of thinking. “In the past, I’ve sort of shied away from it or I saw it as being a little bit of a hindrance but the last couple years, I really tried to just relish it and take it on board.

“It’s a great position to be in. We only get a chance to play here once a year, really, like competitively. You want to try and use all these things to your advantage if you can, and you know, having the support of the home crowd is definitely a help, especially if you’re in contention and you have a chance to win over the weekend. So.... I’m trying to welcome it and take it on board a little bit more.

McIlroy is primed to go on the attack here this week, which should be fun him and for the home fans.

“I’ve heard you can be aggressive off the tees and hit drivers and everything. And, I mean, I’ll have to see the golf course today, but I’m sure something 15-, 18-under par is probably going to be around the winning score this week.

“So you’re going to have to play well and make birdies, and I’ll be as aggressive as I can. I’m not going to be stupid. I’m not going to go at things or hit driver off the tee when you really shouldn’t. But it’s definitely going to be a different test than it was last week.

“But yeah, it will be nice to make some birdies again. I made nine total last week, which I actually thought was pretty good. It was pretty average if you were Martin Kaymer. It’s going to be nice to be able to make some birdies and shoot some low scores.”

That’s the way Fota Island Resort wanted it, for players to go birdie hunting and that will suit both McIlroy, the in-form Lowry and McDowell, if he can get his driver clicking the way he wants it, down to the ground.

Gallacher, the only non-Irish golfer currently ranked in the world top-50, will be a threat as will Italy’s Francesco Molinari, fresh from his best US Open finish of a tie for 23rd alongside McIlroy. Yet the Ireland’s major champions have not flown in just to show their faces. Their intent is clear and the home galleries could well be rewarded with a first Irish win since Lowry surprised everybody in 2009.