ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Rory McIlroy can end the season because the European tour’s high participant for the sixth time with a win on the Abu Dhabi Championship this week.
He’ll try to take action with a brand new swing.
The No. 3-ranked McIlroy stated he has been hunkered down in a studio — first in Florida, then in New York — for 3 weeks, simply hitting balls at a display screen with a modified swing and never even trying on the flight of his photographs.
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He hasn’t appreciated the form of his swing for some time, he stated Wednesday, and wished a extra strong one that would maintain up in probably the most pressure-filled moments following various missed probabilities this season. Probably the most notable was on the U.S. Open in June, the place he missed two putts within the 3-foot vary within the ultimate three holes Sunday to pave the best way for Bryson DeChambeau’s victory and prolong McIlroy’s decade with no main title.
“The one method I used to be going to make a change, or at the least transfer in the precise path, with my swing was to lock myself in a studio and never see the ball flight for a bit and simply focus solely on the motion,” McIlroy stated.
“It is one thing,” he added, “simply to make my golf swing extra environment friendly, after which whether it is extra environment friendly, then it means it isn’t going to interrupt down as a lot beneath strain. If I have a look at my 12 months, the one factor that I might criticize myself on is the truth that I’ve had these probabilities to win.”
McIlroy has received twice this 12 months, on the Dubai Desert Traditional and the Wells Fargo Championship, and has had 4 second-place finishes, together with lately on the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship on the European tour.
That has left the Northern Irishman pissed off however properly clear within the Race to Dubai rankings that decide one of the best participant of the 12 months on the European tour. A win in Abu Dhabi can seal the title and take away some suspense, at the least for McIlroy, from the ultimate occasion of the season, the World Tour Championship in close by Dubai subsequent week.
“If I am going out and win this week, clearly you recognize, it makes it a bit boring subsequent week,” the four-time main champion stated. “However I will not discover it boring. It will likely be beautiful.”
A sixth Race to Dubai title — it was once referred to as the Order of Benefit — would put McIlroy degree with the late Seve Ballesteros on the all-time checklist and solely two behind Colin Montgomerie, who has a document eight.
“I am a European participant,” McIlroy stated. “I wish to go down as probably the most profitable European of all time. Clearly Race to Dubai wins would depend to that but additionally main championships and hopefully I’ve acquired a couple of extra Ryder Cups forward of me as properly.
“In order that’s one thing that I wish to [do]. I feel [it] is a purpose that is fairly attainable over the subsequent 10 years.”
