Rory McIlroy eager for birdie mode at Travelers after finding a ‘feeling' off the tee at Oakmont
While he has been battling for motivation since winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, he has also struggled to hit fairways until last week.
Getting emotionally and physically ready for The Open at Royal Portrush is his next big goal, and after driving the ball well at Oakmont, he's looking forward to making birdies at TPC River Highlands.
'Definitely last week, I found a feeling, especially off the tee, that was repeatable, that was working well, and I led strokes gained off the tee last week, which was a big thing for me,' McIlroy said.
Making birdies in Connecticut should help his mood. 'I think the weeks after Major championships in these events, sometimes when you are in contention and you are trying to win them, it can feel quite difficult to go play the next week,' added McIlroy, who shot a joint-best of the day 67 on Sunday to tie for 19th
'After a week like I had at Oakmont, where you are not quite in the mix but you might feel you find something in your game, you are excited to come back and play again.
'This is the perfect sort of chaser for what Oakmont was last week, and nice to get out on a golf course where you feel you can make quite a few birdies.'
McIlroy is joined in the field by Shane Lowry, who missed the cut at Oakmont but plays his fourth event in a row in the knowledge that he tied for ninth behind Scottie Scheffler last year.
'There are a lot of guys in the field this week where this is their fourth tournament in a row, so they have been put through the wringer the last few weeks,' McIlroy said.
'This is a welcome setup where they feel like they can relax a little bit and not have to grind so much for your score.'
McIlroy will play the first two rounds alongside US Ryder Keegan Bradley, who believes new US Open champion JJ Spaun will be a big asset to his team.
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'I think going to a course like Bethpage Black, the people are really going to be behind a guy like JJ Spaun,' Bradley said.
It's a major week for Leona Maguire, who will be trying to end a miserable run of form in the KPMG Women's PGA at 6,600-yard Fields Ranch East at PGA Frisco.
The Cavan star arrives in Texas on the back of four successive missed cuts and faces tough conditions in 30c temperatures for her opening round alongside American Joanna Coe and Thailand's Patty Tavatanakit.
There is no event on the DP World Tour this week, but Max Kennedy, Mark Power and Dermot McElroy are playing in the HotelPlanner Tour's Blot Play9 at Golf Bluegreen de Pléneuf Val André in France.
Meanwhile, County Louth's Gavin Tiernan was the only Irish player to get through the first round of the Amateur Championship at Royal St George's.
He beat Scotland's Niall Shiels Donegan on the 18th to set up a last-32 clash with Belgium's Jarno Tollenaire.
Galgorm's Joshua Hill lost 3&2 to Canada's Isaiah Ibit, while County Louth's Stuart Grehan fell 4&2 to Mexico's Rodrigo Vasquez.
Leading qualifier Conor Graham of Scotland had to dig deep to see off Denmark's Mads Viernose Larsen on the 21st.
Travelers Championship, 8pm
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