Rory McIlroy isn't ready just yet to pack away the clubs for winter. The world number one – his bank balance further enhanced by scooping the Race to Dubai's bonus pool – has moved on to other green fields, this time to defend his Australian Open title at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney.
After a stellar season in which he won two Majors, the British Open and the US PGA, along with a maiden WGC title at the Bridgestone Invitational, confirming his status as golf's dominant player, the Northern Irishman has good reason to venture back to Australia with a spring in his step.
"If I had to put a finger on what was the trigger to what I've managed to achieve this year, it was my victory in the Australian Open," said McIlroy, referring to a win – going head-to-head with then Masters champion Adam Scott – that ended a year-long drought.
If McIlroy was desperately seeking – and finding – inspiration on his appearance down under this time last year, his return this week is about feeding a desire to move on with momentum into 2015 when he bids to claim a career Grand Slam at the Masters. “I started thinking about Augusta on the 18th of August when I won the PGA,” quipped McIlroy of how that desire for a green jacket is ingrained as a part of his psyche.
Improved game
“It might be a good omen for me going to Augusta if I could win [the Australian Open]. I’ve said many times that my Australian Open victory [at Royal Melbourne last year] was pivotal to what I have achieved this year,” said McIlroy, who believes he has improved in all facets of his game this season.
As he put it, “in terms of ball-striking, I’ve driven it better, which is a huge part of my game. When I drive it well, I can take advantage of most golf courses that we play and give myself shorter irons into greens and more opportunities for birdies. But I think my mid-range putting, when you don’t quite hit a very good iron shot and you leave yourself 25 feet, I’ve been very good from that range this year, which I think has helped. My bad shots aren’t as bad as they were; instead of going 10 yards off the fairway, it might be in the semi-rough. So, just the margin for error has been tightened a little bit which means that I’m hitting more shots from the fairways and giving myself more chances for birdies and shooting better scores because of it.”
McIlroy's assertions are backed up by scoring averages on both the European Tour and the PGA Tour in the United States: in Europe, his stroke average was 69.24; and, in the US, his stroke average was 68.82. On both tours, he topped those scoring average statistics.
Final appearance
The defence of the Australian Open will be McIlroy’s final appearance of the season. Only two non-Australians have successfully defended the famous title:
Jack Nicklaus
and
Gary Player
, both career Grand Slam winners.
If McIlroy were looking for that omen ahead of next April’s trip to Augusta National, he could do worse than a successful defence.
