Rory McIlroy is already out on course for his final round of the US Open and he’s actually done some media duties ahead of the battle to win between Adam Scott and Sam Burns later.
Scott and Burns will go head to head in the final grouping while both J.J. Spaun and Viktor Hovland will be hoping to put pressure on and get involved as well.
McIlroy, meanwhile, has struggled all weekend. Indeed, McIlroy has looked out of sorts completely and his skipping of media over the first two days before calling out certain members of the press after round three hasn’t gone down well.
- READ MORE: The record involving Rory McIlroy that Adam Scott will eclipse if he wins the US Open at Oakmont
Nevertheless, McIlroy seemed back on song ahead of the final round this morning at Oakmont.
And in an interview for NBC – shown on Sky Sports – McIlroy was much more jovial as he looked ahead to what might happen in round four.
Rory McIlroy makes score prediction for round four of the US Open
Despite being a bit off in any interviews this week so far, McIlroy appeared upbeat ahead of round four as he practiced on the greens.
Indeed, his opening nine holes was good as well as he went one under par to find some sort of form.
When it comes to the battle at the top though, McIlroy is just like any other golf fan.
“I think mentally, I’d love to shoot something under par. This is my 6th competitive round here so anything under par would be amazing. It would be nice to just end the week on a positive note going into next week,” McIlroy said when asked what might be a good round for him.
Predicting what might unfold at the top, McIlroy suggested a low score is possible if someone gets it right.
“Yeah, so obviously the rain yesterday and overnight made it a little more receptive. It feels like it will be soft out there so from a scoring standpoint, we might see someone shoot 67 like yesterday.
“But it’s the final round of the US Open and it’s hard to finish off a tournament this big, for anyone. So I think it will just be a case of who holds their nerves. There’s a good mix at the top of youth and experience up there.
“Obviously Adam there, it’s a great storyline but then you’ve got Sam, JJ and Viktor, so I’m excited to watch this afternoon and hopefully I can get out and shoot a good score and enjoy the show like everyone else.”
Much more like it from Rory McIlroy
Whatever has gone in with Rory McIlroy in recent weeks, he might have put it to bed a bit now.
Based on this interview, McIlroy looked a relaxed player and person. Gone was the anger in his tone and sarcasm with reporters. Instead, we had the McIlroy of old here, calm and articulate and answering questions the best he can.
Hopefully, this will be a turning point for the Northern Irishman.
This last few weeks have been a bad look for him and his image and the reality is he’s just never been the person we’ve seen recently.
With a bit of luck, McIlroy has got whatever it was he needed to get off his chest and he can move on and get back to being the golfer we all know and love.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
