Nick Faldo sends message to Rory McIlroy and assesses bid to end major drought
Sir Nick Faldo believes Rory McIlroy needs to "forget" his major championship drought if he is to finally bring his nine-year wait to an end at this week's Open Championship.
McIlroy has excelled in just about every department in recent years but has been unable to get over the line in golf's four biggest tournaments. At the age of 25 the Northern Irishman had secured four major titles in the space of three years and was backed to add plenty more in the years following.
Things have not turned out that way for the 34-year-old though, who has had to endure a number of big misses at golf's majors since his last victory back in 2014.
With every passing major it feels as if the pressure only heightens on McIlroy, but there is renewed hope this time around. Not only is the Northern Irishman heading into the event on the back of a win at last week's Scottish Open, he is also returning to the place in which he won his last Open Championship at Hoylake.
McIlroy secured his first - and only - Claret Jug at the course on the Wirral nine years ago, and will no doubt be hoping for the same result this time around. Ahead of his Open charge, the Northern Irishman has been offered some advice from three-time Open winner Faldo.
Bubba Watson shares details of horror knee injury ahead of LIV Golf debut
As a result, the Englishman believes the key to success for McIlroy this time around is blank out his numerous near misses in recent years, and concentrate on the task at hand in front of him. Asked by Mirror Sport whether his title drought is making his task at major championships even harder, Faldo said: "Yes, we call it scar tissue from lots of past memories.
Rory McIlroy has had a number of near-misses in recent years (Getty Images)"If he can delete as many of those as possible and play in the present time - this is easier said than done. His game is all about trust, confidence, self-belief and you have to have it at 100%. So if he has any doubts they get magnified, that is the hardest thing about our game.
"The last nine years have been incredible, he has had so many good chances, but it must hurt." His recent near-misses in particular will have been tougher to take than most. 12 months ago McIlroy was agonisingly pipped to the 150th Open crown by Cam Smith, having found himself in the driving seat with nine holes to play.
Nick Faldo called on Rory McIlroy to forget about his major drought (PA)And a similar fate followed at last month's U.S. Open, where his putts failed to drop in his final round, as he lost out to Wyndham Clark by a single shot. If he is able to forget his past problems this week though, Faldo believes the Northern Irishman has the perfect chance to end his wait.
"I have got a feeling he is in a very good place," the former world No. 1 added. "He has some freedom, he is playing that well. Maybe he can just say 'hey forget the past, forget everything, just play this one week, how good am I right now?' and he knows he is one of the best."
Watch The Open live from July 20-23 exclusively live on Sky Sports Golf and NOW.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
