Rory McIlroy’s bizarre moment at the US Open looks to have been exactly what he needed to snap out of his slump

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Rory McIlroy looks to be a little too far back to be in with a realistic chance of winning the Travelers Championship on Sunday, but the Northern Irishman may well register his best ever finish at TPC River Highlands with a good final round.

Rory McIlroy is currently tied for seventh at Travelers Championship. He is nine shots back of Tommy Fleetwood with 18 holes to play. But the 36-year-old only needs to move up one position to secure his best result in Connecticut.

Few would have imagined that would be the case after three rounds of the US Open last week, particularly once McIlroy had spoken to the media.

McIlroy had a fairly underwhelming week on the course at Oakmont. He did well just to make the cut, and looked like a man who would rather be anywhere else but Pennsylvania on Saturday.

McIlroy threw clubs and broke a tee marker. He also decided to snub the media after his rounds on Thursday and Friday.

Rory McIlroy’s eventful week at the US Open may have been exactly what he needed

When he did finally speak to the press on Saturday, the five-time major champion delivered one of the most bizarre interviews of the year. McIlroy said he was fed up with members of the media, and suggested that he had earned the right to do whatever he wanted when asked about boycotting them.

With many of the big names not in contention at Oakmont, McIlroy’s comments were one of the biggest talking points over the weekend. And the general feeling appeared to be that he was doing all he could to go from hero to zero following his emotional win at The Masters in April.

Brandel Chamblee urged the golfing world to put their arm around McIlroy as something was clearly not right with him.

But perhaps events since hint that McIlroy has taken a long, hard look in the mirror.

You could certainly argue that McIlroy was justified in being upset about what happened at the PGA Championship. It was only news of his driver failing testing which leaked out to the press despite many other players also having to make changes. Scottie Scheffler admitted after his victory at Quail Hollow that he had to change his driver.

But the way McIlroy vented those frustrations at the US Open was not a good look at all. And you would like to think that he would be a little embarrassed in hindsight. He was short-tempered on the golf course, while he sounded incredibly petulant with what he said to the media after his third round.

Rory McIlroy on much better form since bizarre press conference at Oakmont

Based on the fact that McIlroy then did some media before and after his round on Sunday, it seems that it may have clicked that his actions the previous day were wrong.

It was also noticeable that he posted the joint-lowest round of the final day to end up sneaking into the top 20 at the third major of the year. Admittedly, he still displayed some frustration during that final round.

He is not back to his very best yet, but McIlroy is now on course for a top 10 at Travelers.

It may unravel on Sunday at TPC River Highlands, and this view may quickly look very foolish. It may be that he has finally realised that he cannot win The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his current rut – and remaining angry with the media is unlikely to change anything.

But the very early signs suggest that that hugely disappointing press conference on Saturday at Oakmont could actually be the turning point Rory McIlroy desperately needed.