For a player who has not won a major in eight years, Rory McIlroy could hardly be in a better position heading into the 122nd US Open.
Victory in the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday was the 21st PGA Tour win of McIlroy’s career and the first time he had successfully defended a title, albeit at a different course and three years apart due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
That lifted McIlroy up to third in the world rankings, his highest position since August 2020, and comes on the back of a runners-up finish in the Masters following a closing 64 and a tie for eighth in the US PGA.
McIlroy concedes the latter was a missed opportunity after his opening 65 at Southern Hills and a final-round charge which fizzled out, but the 33-year-old was understandably in buoyant mood at Brookline, scene of amateur Francis Ouimet’s famous US Open triumph in 1913.
“It certainly puts a pep in your step. It gives you a lot of confidence,” McIlroy, who is the last player (in 2014) to win on the PGA Tour and claim a major the following week, said of his victory in Ontario.
“Going into last week, even coming off Memorial where I didn’t have my best week, I still knew my game was there. I still knew that I was playing well (but) I think it was the fashion in which I won last week that gave me the most pride.
“(I) got a lead early in the back nine. Lost that lead. Was tied with two holes to go, and then I showed some really good resilience and birdied the last two holes to get the job done.
“I did the same thing in 2019 going into the US Open at Pebble Beach and played pretty well there.
“I didn’t play well enough to live with Gary (Woodland) that week, but I feel everything is certainly trending in the right direction, and I’m happy with where my game is
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