Rory McIlroy has no issues with repeated talk over his long wait for another major crown, preferring to have many "close calls" rather than missing out entirely.
The Northern Irishman is preparing to tee off at The Open Championship on Thursday, playing alongside Tyrrell Hatton and American Max Homa in the first two rounds at Royal Troon.
Much of the discussion before the 152nd Open has revolved around McIlroy's near-miss at the U.S. Open, having squandered a late lead by bogeying three of his final four holes.
That collapse included two woeful putts from close range, with Bryson DeChambeau seizing the chance to take the Pinehurst major, and brought further questions over McIlroy's game.
Yet the 35-year-old, who has not won a major since 2014 at the PGA Championship, would rather be close again than not be in the race.
"It [talk about another major win] doesn't bother me," McIlroy said at Tuesday's pre-tournament press conference.
"I know that I'm in a good spot. If I think about 2015 through 2020, that five-year stretch, I seldom had a realistic chance to win a major championship in those five years.
"So I'd much rather have these close calls. It means that I'm getting closer.
"I'd love to be able to play golf and get one over the line, but as soon as I do that, people are going to say, well, when are you going to win your sixth? So it's never-ending."
Messages of support flooded towards McIlroy after last month's disappointment at the U.S. Open, with Rafael Nadal, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods all reaching out.
McIlroy was none the wiser about Woods' kind words, however, having changed his phone number after taking a break following the Pinehurst failure.
"Full disclosure, I changed my number two days after the U.S. Open, so I didn't get it until he told me about it today," McIlroy added. "I was like, 'Oh, thanks very much'.
"So I blanked Tiger Woods, which is probably not a good thing. Tiger has been nothing but incredible to me over the course of my career, in the good moments and the bad. He sent me an incredible message after St. Andrews in 2022.
"I met Tiger when I was 15 years old, and I've built up a great relationship with him, his whole family. He really enjoys spending time with my mum and dad as well. It means a lot that he reached out.
"It means a lot that he waited a few days to reach out, which if he hadn't waited that long, I probably would have got it. But I caught up with him earlier.
"It's always nice when your hero and the guy that you had on your bedroom wall is reaching out and offering words of encouragement."
The Open: Home hope MacIntyre went 'absolutely wild' after Scottish Open triumph
Robert MacIntyre is Scotland's big hope ahead of The Open, though his preparations were delayed somewhat.
That is after he went "absolutely wild" in the wake of his victory at the Scottish Open last weekend.
MacIntyre became the first Scot to win the Scottish Open since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
It is also 25 years since a Scot last won The Open, with Paul Lawrie triumphing at Carnoustie on that occasion.
MacIntyre is being tipped as an outside bet to lift the Claret Jug, though the 27-year-old said it was nevertheless vital he and his team were able to celebrate his Scottish Open victory in style.
"I'm not a big drinker, but when you get moments like that, and you've got family and friends there that have backed you since you were a young kid, it was quite right to go absolutely wild," he said.
"We did a good job of that. After this week's over, I'll sit down with my team and we'll reflect on it and probably celebrate again because it was a lifetime goal."
Speaking of his approach to The Open, MacIntyre kept it typically low-key.
"I'm not going out there trying to win a golf tournament," he said.
"If you bogey the first, you're thinking the golf tournament is getting further away from you.
"The minute you think that, your emotions are all over the place. You lose all control of yourself. You lose thought process, touch, everything.
"We all start off from level par and I've got as much chance as everyone else in the field.
"It's just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall. Hopefully I'll have a chance. That's all I want."
The Open: Fleetwood tries not to dwell on near misses
Tommy Fleetwood tries not to think about his near misses at the majors, as he bids to put that frustration behind him by winning The Open.
Fleetwood has never won a major, but has finished in the top five in each of the four events.
Indeed, he was second at The Open in 2019, a year after he finished second at the U.S. Open.
Earlier this year, the 33-year-old placed T3 at The Masters, and ahead of taking to the course at Royal Troon on Thursday, Fleetwood said he attempts to ensure the past does not play on his mind.
"I try not to dwell on it too much," he said.
"I get frustrated like anybody else. I get down on myself like anybody else.
"I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like, and I'm probably not in a position in the game where I want to be, even though I'm doing perfectly well.
"It's not where I believe I can be, and the results don't always show that."
Fleetwood is one of four golfers to have finished inside the top 10 at each of the last two editions of The Open, along with Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young and last year's champion Brian Harman.
However, he is yet to win on the PGA Tour, though he does have seven European Tour titles to his name.
He added; "I try to focus on the positives and what I need to do to actually get to where I want to be or contend in tournaments and win tournaments.
"I try to focus on that every day, but yeah, to be sure, the game's annoying.
"Even when you play well, you come off frustrated because you might have missed a putt or you might have finished a shot or two behind where you thought you could."
The Open: McIlroy aims to bounce back as Woods returns to Troon
The fourth and final major of 2024 is here, as Royal Troon hosts the 152nd edition of The Open Championship.
Following his remarkable near-miss at the U.S. Open, the event offers Rory McIlroy one last chance to stop his major drought from stretching into an 11th year.
Bryson DeChambeau edged McIlroy out at Pinehurst and should again be among the contenders, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is targeting an improvement after a disappointing showing on home soil.
Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa – who won the 149th Open three years ago – are also eyeing glory, while Tiger Woods will play his first Open at Troon in 20 years.
Here, we run through the best Opta stats and storylines surrounding the main contenders.
Can McIlroy bounce back?
McIlroy won his third major title at The Open in 2014, beating Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by six shots at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. One month later, he made it four by winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla.
Who would have thought that 10 years on, the Northern Irishman would still be yet to add another major title to his glittering trophy cabinet?
Perhaps his most gutting near-miss to date came at last month's U.S. Open. Neck-and-neck with DeChambeau at the top of the leaderboard as the final round drew to a close, McIlroy missed two putts from within four yards in the final three holes.
The world number two took three weeks off after that disappointment before struggling on the greens again at last week's Scottish Open, finishing tied for fourth as Robert MacIntyre triumphed on home ground.
McIlroy has had five top-10 finishes in his last seven Open Championship appearances, though, including finishing in the top five on each of his last three Open outings on Scottish soil.
He also finished in a share of fifth at his only previous Open at Troon in 2016, and produced his best Open performance of the last decade when the event was last held in Scotland, finishing third and two shots adrift of Cameron Smith at St. Andrews in 2022.
With 21 top-10 finishes in 37 majors since his 2014 PGA Championship win, McIlroy has generally put himself in contention on the big stage – an improvement he referenced at Tuesday's pre-tournament press conference.
The key, as he earlier told reporters after the Scottish Open, will be getting his putter to "cooperate" when it matters most.
Double bubble for Bryson?
Not since Woods completed his memorable 'Tiger Slam' has any player won the U.S. Open and The Open Championship in the same year.
Woods, of course, captured both titles as he won three straight majors to round off 2000, then kick-started 2001 by triumphing at The Masters.
Tom Watson (1982), Lee Trevino (1971), Ben Hogan (1953), Gene Sarazen (1932) and Bobby Jones (1926 and 1930) are the other players to have won both in the same year.
DeChambeau will attempt to write his name into the history books this week, though his record at The Open leaves plenty to be desired.
Only in 2022 (T8) has he finished higher than 33rd at the event, a placing he managed in both 2017 and 2021. Across his six participations, he has also missed the cut twice and finished in a share of 60th last year.
The American has really turned up at the majors this year, however, finishing T6 at The Masters and second at the PGA Championship before claiming his second U.S. Open title.
PGA Championship victor Schauffele is the only other player to finish inside the top 10 at each of this year's three majors to date.
Indeed, DeChambeau is 28 under par across this year's opening three majors (-2 at The Masters, -20 PGA Championship, -6 U.S. Open), a better aggregate score than any other player. Write him off at your peril.
Scheffler to stay on top?
Victory at Augusta seemed to be paving the way for a dominant year in the majors for world number one Scheffler, though that has not quite been the case, even if he is enjoying a fantastic season nevertheless.
His arrest on the eve of the PGA Championship was far from ideal preparation for that tournament, and it was followed by a disappointing showing at the U.S. Open.
Will he get back to form at Royal Troon, and become the ninth player to win both The Masters and The Open in the same year, and the first since Woods in 2005?
Scheffler's best finish at The Open was a tie for eighth in 2021. But he has won six of his last 10 tournaments this year (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, Masters, Heritage, Memorial and Travelers).
That marks the most wins on the PGA Tour in a calendar year since Woods in 2009.
The last six major tournaments have been won by American players. It is the USA's longest streak of major wins since 1982, and Scheffler is the very best of the bunch.
Can Harman hold onto the title? The other contenders and Woods is back
Four golfers have finished inside the top 10 at each of the last two editions of The Open: McIlroy, Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman, who won the Claret Jug last year.
Harman comes into The Open as the world number 13, though it is worth noting he has only finished in the top 10 in three majors (U.S. Open 2017, The Open 2022 and The Open 2023).
Scottish Open champion MacIntyre is one of only three multiple winners on the PGA Tour this year (he won the Canadian Open in June), along with Scheffler and McIlroy.
Home favourite MacIntyre is aiming to become the first Scottish winner of a major since Paul Lawrie in 1999.
In his three Open Championship appearances so far, Morikawa has either won (2021) or missed the cut (2022, 2023). He is one of two players to win The Open at the first attempt this century, alongside Ben Curtis in 2003.
What about Schauffele? He finally ended his wait for a major title at the PGA Championship earlier this year. Since the 2022 edition of that tournament, the world number three has played in 10 major tournaments and has never finished outside the top 20.
And, finally, Troon will welcome back Woods after a two-decade absence.
The 15-time major champion bit back at a suggestion he should be considering retirement, and will be out to prove his doubters wrong.
That being said, the last time he made the cut at The Open was in 2018, at Carnoustie (T-6th), and he failed to make the weekend at both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship this year.
Having also finished last of any player to make the cut at this year's Masters, Woods may be up against it at Royal Troon, though is firing on all fronts after Colin Montgomerie's retirement comments.
The course
Royal Troon is hosting The Open Championship for the 10th time. It will become the eighth course to welcome the tournament on 10 or more occasions and only the fourth venue in Scotland to play host that many times, after St. Andrews (30), Prestwick (24) and Muirfield (16).
The first Open at Troon took place 101 years ago, in 1923, and the course has welcomed the tournament at least once in every decade since the 1950s.
The most recent Open to be held at the venue saw Henrik Stenson edge out Phil Mickelson by three strokes back in 2016.
At that edition of the tournament, Stenson set records both for the lowest final score at a 72-hole Open (264) and the lowest score to par (20 under), with Smith matching that latter achievement two years ago.
Does more history await this year?
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
