Rory McIlroy will seek to channel Novak Djokovic when he embarks on the challenge of winning The Open next week – an opportunity he fears will be his last to win a major in Northern Ireland.
The 36-year-old missed the cut at Portrush in 2019 and is acutely aware that future chances of claiming one of golf’s big four crowns on home soil will be limited, or non-existent, if the 153rd edition of the tournament does not go his way.
That is why Djokovic has entered his thinking, with McIlroy drawing inspiration from how the Serbian completed his set of elite titles by winning the Olympic gold in Paris at the age of 37. McIlroy has more time on his side, but will almost certainly be in his forties when the R&A next send their flagship event to Northern Ireland.
McIlroy, who is warming up at the Scottish Open this week, said: ‘It’s a little like when Djokovic won the Olympics last year, he knew that was doing to be his final chance, and you saw the emotion and you saw how much it meant to him. You think about it, and you can’t pretend that it’s not there.
‘When you are on the golf course, you just have to go out there and play as if you’re not playing at home and just play as if it’s another golf tournament. But it obviously has more emphasis.
‘There’s something extra there, just like there is at an open at St Andrews or a US Open at Pebble Beach, for example.’
Rory McIlroy will take inspiration from a tennis star as he embarks on a journey for success
McIlroy feels this fortnight could represent his final shot at major success in his homeland
McIlroy will be drawing inspiration from how Novak Djokovic won Olympic gold in Paris at 37
McIlroy will be among a stellar cast of the game’s elite on the links at the Renaissance Club this week, including world No 1 Scheffler. It is a rare trip across the Atlantic by Scheffler, who stated he has no plans to emulate McIlroy by adopting a global schedule.
The American said: ‘I always come over here and try to play this tournament and The Open Championship. I haven’t played in Asia or Australia yet as a professional.
‘Really, with the way our schedule is on Tour, the thing that’s most important to me is my time at home.
‘It would be wonderful to be able to play an international schedule, but right now we play most of our tournaments in the States and I come over here for these few weeks.’
