Top three in tune, so I’m ‘back to Ringo’ jokes McIlroy

The defending champion for this week’s Irish Open has dropped to No. 4 in the world rankings.

Published : Jul 06, 2017 10:09 IST , Portstewart (UK)

Rory McIlroy... “Winning golf tournaments and playing well takes care of the rankings.”
Rory McIlroy... “Winning golf tournaments and playing well takes care of the rankings.”
lightbox-info

Rory McIlroy... “Winning golf tournaments and playing well takes care of the rankings.”

Rory McIlroy joked he was now like Beatles drummer Ringo Starr having fallen to No. 4 in the world rankings ahead of this week’s Irish Open.

The defending champion and host for this week’s event at Portstewart on the rugged Northern Ireland coastline, had dropped to third in the world after missing the cut at the U.S. Open last month. He then fell a further place behind No. 1 Dustin Johnson and second-ranked Hideki Matsuyama when Jordan Spieth won the Travelers Championship to move into third.

“I am back to Ringo,” McIlroy said smiling. “It only bothers me I’m not where I want to be. But I feel like there’s been a couple of things that have been out of my control this year that have led to that with the injuries and stuff.”

McIlroy had to adjust to new clubs this year after Nike stopped manufacturing equipment, suffered a rib injury which has limited him to just three tournament appearances since the Masters and had the happy distraction of getting married in April. “Like I’ve said all along, winning golf tournaments and playing well takes care of the rankings,” said McIlroy. “It’s funny, I don’t look at it as much now as I would if I was No. 1. If I was Dustin Johnson, I would be looking at that thing every Monday morning.”

One putter

Four-time major winner McIlroy said he was realistic about his form having missed so much of the season, but was still determined to get into contention every time he tees it up. “The good thing is I know where I am and I realise that I’m a long way off where I want to be, but I can’t think about that at the minute,” said the 28-year-old.

“I just have to think about trying to win golf tournaments, trying to get in contention again at golf tournaments, first of all. And then just playing well, and playing well takes care of a lot of that stuff.”

McIlroy played practice rounds in the past week not only at Portstewart and nearby Royal Portrush, which will be the venue for the 2019 British Open, but also Royal Birkdale which hosts the third major of the year in a fortnight’s time. McIlroy has struggled with his putter this year, changing clubs frequently, so it was notable that he was accompanied at Birkdale last week by putting coach Phil Kenyon.

“With Phil’s help I have whittled it down to just one putter I want to use,” McIlroy said. “Phil walked around 18 holes with me at Birkdale last Thursday and then I spent a little bit of time with him on the putting green after that. It feels good.”

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment