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Rory McIlroy is once again among the pre-tournament favourites heading into The 152nd Open, but is this the week he enjoys major redemption and finally ends a decade-long drought?
McIlroy won The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014 and claimed the PGA Championship later that summer, although the Northern Irishman has been unable to add to that tally since, despite 21 major top 10s during the last 10 seasons.
The former world No 1 looked destined to claim a long-awaited fifth major victory when he held a two-shot lead with five holes remaining at the US Open last month, only to bogey three of his last four holes and finish a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No 2.
McIlroy bounced back from his major disappointment to finish tied-fourth last week at the Genesis Scottish Open and is expected to impress again at Royal Troon, with former Ryder Cup players Andrew Coltart and David Howell discussing his hopes in the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast.
“I think he deals with it [the disappointment] very well,” Coltart said. “The way he speaks and by taking himself away to gather his thoughts. He says he doesn’t really seek too much advice from people, he just gets on with it himself and just figures it out.
“I couldn’t do that. It would hurt me massively, but I hope that’s part of the strength and the thing that he can use to come back and win again.”
How will McIlroy respond?
McIlroy revealed he changed his phone number and spent time in Manhattan after his US Open finish, then said in his press conference ahead of The Open that he had gone from “being very disappointed and dejected to trying to focus on the positives” within four days of the loss.
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McIlroy explains he missed Tiger Woods’ message after the US Open but has recently caught up with the 15-time major champion
“He [McIlroy] is going to have learnt so much,” Howell said. “What did he learn? He learned that he freed up and he attacked the final round and he had it within him to get into that dominant position.
“He also learned that he got out of his own zone – he was too worried about what Bryson was doing just behind him. He got out of position a couple of times and he left himself in the most difficult part on the golf course on the final hole.
“I think he’ll learn loads from that experience. I think he’s almost moved on from it. I think he’ll take the positive learnings from that week, he’ll attack the final round again if he’s in place and he’ll know to keep the blinkers on.
“Winning a major championship is really hard and you’ve got to go back to what it was like when you were first trying to win your first championship, which is this is an incredibly difficult thing to do. It’s a case of playing all 72 holes before looking and if he does that, he might well win this week.
The Open Live
Thursday 18th July 6:30am
“When he had the debacle at The Masters the first time around, when he blew the four-shot lead, what does he do? At Congressional, a few weeks later, he wins his first major championship. It wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever if he did it again.”
What else is on the podcast?
Coltart and Howell join regular host Josh Antmann to discuss all the big talking points ahead of this week’s major, including the challenge of Royal Troon and what the players can expect this week at the Postage Stamp and some of the “card-wrecker” holes.
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World No 1 Scottie Scheffler has high praise for Royal Troon’s signature hole ‘The Postage Stamp’ and believes short par-threes are always best
They debate whether Scottie Scheffler was right to take a three-week break from PGA Tour action ahead of his trip to Scotland, where he chases a seventh win in 11 starts, plus discuss whether Tommy Fleetwood can end the 32-year wait for an English winner of The Open.
DeChambeau’s hopes of a second successive major title are also discussed and predictions are given for who will lift the Claret Jug, while Robert MacIntyre’s dramatic win at the Genesis Scottish Open and a shock Ryder Cup appointment for Keegan Bradley are other subjects on the menu.
Download and listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast and don’t forget to subscribe via Spotify, Spreaker or Apple Podcasts! If you’d like to contact the podcast, then you can email at [email protected].
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