All eyes are on Rory McIlroy this week at the PGA Championship. The two-time PGA Champion is coming off a dominant performance last week at the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship and is now back at Valhalla, site of his last major championship victory back in 2014. This will be McIlroy’s 16th PGA start, and the 35-year-old has collected eight top-10 finishes, including the victories in 2012 at Kiawah Island and a decade ago at Valhalla.
STARTING TIMES: See when Rory and others will tee off in Round 1
McIlroy, ranked No. 2 in the world behind Scottie Scheffler, met with the media Wednesday. Here are four takeaways from his PGA Championship press conference:
This marks the first time that McIlroy has been at Valhalla since his win 10 years ago. He vaguely remembers the golf course but is more pleased with his current form. After playing a practice round, he sums it up like this, “This is a golf course that allows you to play with freedom.”
Speaking of freedom, McIlroy admitted that his Sunday performance at Quail Hollow – where he shot an easy 65 – gives him so much confidence. The driver feels good, technically he feels sound and the lines he took on some of his wedge shots during the week have him excited about Valhalla.
Rory McIlroy is coming into Valhalla off back-to-back wins.
— PGA Championship (@PGAChampionship) May 13, 2024
Deja vu?!? #PGAChamp https://t.co/iTUJJ8lkaw
Just regarding the driver, McIlroy said that he’s as pleased with his driver now as he’s been at any point over the last few years. “The good drives are just as good and the bad drives aren’t as bad,” he said. Nearly every player who has talked his week has said that driving the golf ball long and straight will be the key to victory.
Here is a scary proposition for the field. McIlroy teamed with Shane Lowry to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in late April. The team event at TPC Louisiana was something they hatched up after a victorious Ryder Cup run last fall. What did McIlroy do afterward? He didn’t touch a golf club for six days. Eight days later he won the Wells Fargo Championship by five shots after making a double bogey on the 72nd hole. “I learn the most about my game just by playing,” he said.
