Rory McIlroy rids himself of 'rust' and ready for The Open as he reveals special Major strategy

Rory McIlroy reckons he’s knocked the rust off heading to The Open.

The Northern Irishman failed in his bid to land back-to-back titles at the Genesis Scottish Open. McIlroy’s return from a three-week exile after US Open agony saw him come up short at The Renaissance. The 35-year-old wasn’t able to produce magic in the East Lothian final round with his 68 not enough for victory. However, as he now heads for the 152nd Championship and latest attempt to crack a decade-long Major drought, McIlroy believes he’s sharpened up nicely for Ayrshire.

He said: “It would have been nice to be at the business end of the tournament and really contend. Overall, I feel like my game is in really good shape heading into the final Major of the year. The reason that I like to play the week before the Majors is to knock a little bit of rust off and try to get sharp. I feel like I’ve done that. It’s good. I haven’t played links golf since Hoylake last year, so it was good to get back on a links course for the first time.

“It was a solid week. I got to play in a little bit of wind, just getting acclimated to the shots that you need and I don’t think the speeds of the greens are going to be too dissimilar. So just trying to adjust. I felt like I left a lot of shots out on the course over four days, but off the back of three weeks off, I guess that’s to be expected.

“I played it [Open at Troon] eight years ago and remember it pretty well. I think just getting a good strategy on what I’m going to do off the tees and then it’s in and around the greens.

“It’s the shots that you need around the greens. The bunkers at Troon are very penal, so trying to employ a strategy where you can navigate your way around them. If I can get the putter to