\n<\/p>\n
The hours and days that followed were painful but cathartic. \u201cI went home on Sunday night and actually spent Monday night, Tuesday and Wednesday in Manhattan,\u201d McIlroy revealed.<\/p>\n
A handful of New Yorkers recognised him but with ear pods clamped he remained largely anonymous despite the welter of publicity his Pinehurst collapse had created. \u201cIt was nice to sort of blend in with the city a little bit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked around. I walked the High Line a couple of times. I made a few phone calls.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was sort of alone with my thoughts for a couple days, which was good. I had some good chats with people close to me, and you start to think about not just Sunday at Pinehurst but the whole week.\u201d<\/p>\n
Any athlete who suffers such a savagely dispiriting defeat will eventually seek to \u201ctake the positives\u201d and McIlroy is no different. He knows The Open at Royal Troon is just around the corner – his last chance in 2024 to add a fifth major crown to his resume.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old from Northern Ireland insists it will not be a redemptive mission when he arrives on the Firth of Clyde next week. \u201cIt’s just another opportunity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m playing great golf and it’s another opportunity to see how I can hopefully handle it better than I handled it a few weeks ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
His worldwide legion of fans will hope he is correct, but it will surely be even harder to break his major hoodoo after squandering such a golden opportunity in North Carolina, where he led by two with five holes to play.<\/p>\n
McIlroy admits the wait to hit his par putt on the 16th affected his bid to hole from inside three feet. He had been successful in his previous 496 attempts from such a distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had to wait awhile to hit that second putt,\u201d he said. \u201cYou stand there. It’s hard not to either start thinking about the future or notice before Bryson’s ball is in the fairway or that sort of stuff.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut again, that’s on me to make sure that I’m in the right head space.\u201d<\/p>\n
He insists he hit \u201ca decent putt\u201d but misjudged the right of centre line. \u201cProbably started it straight, maybe a touch left of centre, and the green grabbed it and it caught the left edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt wasn’t a terrible putt, but I definitely felt a little bit of uneasiness before I hit it.\u201d<\/p>\n
McIlroy did not address the tee shot that bounced through the back of the green that led to bogey at the 15th or his decision to go with driver at the last where his tee shot found trouble down the left and ultimately led to such a tricky par putt.<\/p>\n
But he did acknowledge that his playing routine altered as he headed into the sharp end of the tournament as he was taking every opportunity to gauge the progress of DeChambeau in the group behind.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a great day until it wasn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cI think if anything, I’d say my pre-shot routine got a little bit long. I started to look at the target a few more times over the ball.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then being very aware of what maybe some others were doing on the golf course and not really staying in my own little world for the whole 18 holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut really, apart from that, there’s not a lot I would do differently.\u201d<\/p>\n
Critics also questioned the apparently passive role of caddie Harry Diamond during that calamitous closing stretch of three bogeys in the last four holes. But McIlroy continues to stand by his bagman.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because Harry is not as vocal or loud with his words as other caddies, it doesn’t mean that he doesn’t say anything and that he doesn’t do anything,\u201d the four time major champion said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese guys that criticise when things don’t go my way, they never say anything good when things do go my way.\u201d<\/p>\n
McIlroy was dismissive of critics including coach Hank Haney and former PGA Tour player Smylie Kaufman.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeone said to me once, if you would never take advice from these people, you would never take their criticisms, either,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI certainly wouldn’t go to Hank Haney for advice. I love Smylie, but I think I know what I’m doing, and so does Harry.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s Genesis Scottish Open, where McIlroy is the defending champion, is the first opportunity to to once again prove that point. The following week at Royal Troon is a much greater challenge.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n