Rory McIlroy is up and running at the Irish Open, where he is continuing his preparations for this month’s Ryder Cup.
The K Club plays host to the Irish Open this week, the same venue where McIlroy won the tournament in 2016.
He is among a handful of European Ryder Cup players taking on the event in Ireland, which he will follow with an appearance at the BMW PGA Championship.
The tournaments continue the DP World Tour schedule and follow the conclusion of McIlroy’s PGA Tour season, in which he claimed three wins.
The Masters champion will then turn his focus to the Ryder Cup, with McIlroy loving Luke Donald’s team that will line out at Bethpage Black.
Rory McIlroy rates his game at the Irish Open as the Ryder Cup nears
But he’s currently aiming for another success at the Irish Open, where he carded a one-under 71 in his first round.
Asked to evaluate his performance, McIlroy replied: “Yeah, felt like I played better than what the score reflects.
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“Felt like I hit the ball well, drove the ball well, you know, just had that disappointing finish, bogeying two of the last three holes.
“But actually pretty encouraged how I played. Just didn’t score as well as I wanted to. Yeah, game feels pretty good.
“Yeah, as I said, off the tee was good. Was sort of a continuation of what I saw at East Lake a couple of weeks ago. Just a matter of being more efficient with the scoring.”
And when asked if it feels like his game is now coming together a bit more, he responded: “Yeah, a little bit.
“Ball striking-wise I thought I was pretty good today. Then, yeah, around the greens for the most part I was good.
“I missed a couple of mid-range putts there at the end of the round to save par and that one at the last for birdie, but felt like I hit decent putts and just hitting edges. So hopefully I can get it going tomorrow and shoot a low one.”
Rory McIlroy shares verdict on the Irish Open fans at The K Club
The five-time major winner concluded his PGA Tour season at East Lake last month, finishing T23 at the Tour Championship.
McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood won the Tour Championship, claiming his first-ever PGA Tour win in the process.
Fleetwood was a popular figure at East Lake, although the opposite scenario is set to play out for the Englishman and his European teammates at Bethpage Black.
That includes McIlroy, who has no such worry this week as he plays the Irish Open not far from his native Northern Ireland.
Sharing his verdict on the fans at The K Club so far, he said: “Yeah, it’s been amazing. It’s great every time I come back and play in this tournament.
“The crowds are unbelievable and it’s obviously a pleasure to play in front of them. They create a great atmosphere.”
McIlroy would be a very popular champion in Kildare, although the same can be said of Irishman Shane Lowry.
He is another who will play at the Ryder Cup for the visitors, with Lowry and McIlroy also joined in this week’s field by teammate Tyrrell Hatton.
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