Rory McIlroy is feeling happy ahead of the Players Championship in Florida this week.
The Irishman endured a difficult weekend at the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing nine shots behind winner Jason Day.
Despite the set-back in the final standings, the 29-year-old is delighted with the strides his game took in the tournament.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McIlroy said:
I felt like my game improved as the week went on. I saw some decent signs (on Saturday),
I actually hit the ball much better today (Sunday) – the score doesn’t quite suggest that. I have still got a couple of things to work on going into next week.
The week at TPC Sawgrass is often referred to as the “unofficial fifth major” in golf, as the great-and-good of the golfing world descend on North-Eastern Florida to battle it out for a cut of the sizeable $10.5 million purse.
McIlroy has never won the Players Championship, and knows alterations from the Wells Fargo Championship will be necessary to take him round 72 holes this week:
Sawgrass is a completely different test to what this golf course (Quail Hollow) is. You are going to have to play slightly differently, hit different shots off tees.
I will probably change my bag set-up a little bit. I won’t hit as many drivers. I have got the driving iron in the bag – I will hit quite a lot around there.
Sawgrass’ status as an arena-type course will be at the forefront of the players’ minds, and McIlroy will have to call on his years of accumulated wisdom to stay calm under pressure.
