Rory McIlroy makes big change to his practice round ahead of The Open which he very rarely does

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Rory McIlroy is among the star names who will be fighting for glory at The Open Championship this week.

The Northern Irishman will be desperate to clinch success after his collapse at last month’s major, with many people within golf reaching out to McIlroy after the US Open.

He was in contention to end his decade-long major drought at Pinehurst No. 2, but ultimately fell short in North Carolina.

Bryson DeChambeau won the competition by one shot, with McIlroy making a quick exit after the narrow defeat.

The latter is now doing his best to put that misery behind him, with the world number two having just produced a strong showing at the Scottish Open.

Rory McIlroy makes big change in his practice round at The Open

After winning the event in 2023, he finished tied-fourth after shooting 14-under last week, with McIlroy now trying to take a step back and appreciate his success more.

That is one change he has made ahead of The Open Championship, which gets underway at Royal Troon Golf Club on Thursday.

Sky Sports reporter Jamie Weir has now detailed another difference to McIlroy’s approach ahead of the final major of the year.

“To be honest he’s looking very relaxed,” Weir said on Sky Sports. “I think he’s got his game face on as well.

“Quite often in recent years, we’ve seen Rory McIlroy – when he has his practice rounds – go out on his own, quite often with obviously his caddy Harry Diamond, maybe Brad Faxon, his putting coach. Sometimes Michael Bannon – his coach – makes the journey over as well.

“But he very much stays in his own bubble. Today’s different. He’s gone out with three playing partners, with Tom McKibbin, playing in his very first Open Championship, with Darren Clarke, the Champion golfer of 2011, and Matt Wallace is an honorary northern Irishman for the morning, because he’s alongside the three Northern Irish boys.”

Will Rory McIlroy’s changes bring him success at The Open?

McIlroy does, of course, have history at The Open, having won the competition in 2014 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

But that season represents his most recent major success, with the Northern Irishman also winning the 2014 PGA Championship.

The 2011 US Open and 2012 PGA Championship were also secured, but McIlroy must now focus on the present as opposed to the past.

He certainly has a great chance of adding to his impressive honours list this week, with the course perhaps suiting his game better than most.

Weir added that McIlroy’s new approach is also working wonders for his mental game, saying: “Just chatting to Brad Faxon for a couple of holes, he was saying he thinks that’s good for Rory, thinks that he’s got a smile on his face, that being around pals is good for him to get him relaxed going into this week.”

Plenty of golfers have now seen the course up close, with Will Zalatoris calling Troon ‘really special’ after his first practice round.