Rory McIlroy believes he stands a good chance of winning the Travelers Championship should he continue the good form he showed in the opening round of the tournament. The Northern Irish golfer is coming off a disappointing performance in the US Open where he caught flak for his engagements with the media.
After skipping press duties during the first two rounds of the major, the Masters champion insisted he’s “earned the right” to act as he wishes, while also sharing his eagerness to move on from Oakmont. Despite earlier controversies, McIlroy was all grins in a later interview on Sunday, although his prior conduct at the Pennsylvania course continued to spark criticism and queries from both fans and commentators. By Thursday, McIlroy seemed more than willing to engage with the press after kicking off the Travelers Championship with a bogey-free round.
The 36-year-old notched birdies at holes 2, 6, 8, 13, 15 and 17 at TPC River Highlands, leading to a six-under-par start. “Yeah, it was good,” McIlroy commented. “I said yesterday, this is a nice tonic compared to last week in terms of it’s a slightly more benign golf course and the penalty for missing isn’t quite as severe.
“You can give yourself plenty of chances for birdies, which Keegan [Bradley] and I did today. Yeah, overall it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you’re in a two-ball like that and we can sort of feed off one another a little bit, too, that’s nice, as well.”
Speaking on his form since clinching victory at the Masters, McIlroy is keeping his feet firmly on the ground. “I just want to see some good golf and see some better shots,” he said. “I think if you concentrate on that and you’re concentrating on your quality of golf and concentrating on just trying to play to the best of your ability, the result will take care of itself.”
While admitting that thinking about winning the event is futile, he did state that remaining consistent in his performance will place him in good stead to capture a first triumph since Augusta. “There’s no point in thinking about the result right now. I’m just trying to play as good as I can and make good swings, and if I do that enough, more than likely I’ll find myself in a position to have a chance to win,” McIlroy added.
When probed on his recent clashes with the media and his take on the role of journalists, he responded: “I’m not a journalist. I don’t know. Report the birdies and bogeys, I guess. The storylines sort of write themselves for the most part. I certainly see the need for it and see the need for the platform.
“I’ve never argued that. But I just think nowadays there’s so many different ways to consume sports and entertainment. It certainly isn’t the only avenue to get your sports news and information.” While he’s currently joint-third alongside Wyndham Clark and Bradley, it’s world number one Scottie Scheffler and Austin Eckroat who are tied for first after each carding a score of eight-under.
