Rory McIlroy says he is looking forward to competing in the Irish Open with the Ryder Cup looming on the horizon.
The 36-year-old finished tied 23rd in the 30-man Tour Championship, an event that saw Tommy Fleetwood break his PGA duck and pocket €8.5m for becoming FedEx champion.
With the four majors taken care of – including McIlroy completing the grand slam with victory at Augusta in April – the schedule is tapering off. Not that the Hollywood native is solely focused on the Ryder Cup next month, where Team Europe will defend their title in New York.
McIlroy has committed to playing the Irish Open (4-7 September) at the K Club and will also compete at the BMW PGA Championship (11-14 September) at Wentworth a week later.
As well as looking to claim just a second Irish Open title – his sole triumph came at the Kildare venue nine years ago – McIlroy is also keen to cement his place at the top of the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai.
The five-time major winner is chasing a seventh season-long title to surpass Seve Ballesteros and move within one of Colin Montgomerie’s record.
McIlroy insists he is fully motivated to finish the year out strong.
“The season is not over for me. I’ve still got a lot of golf coming up. I refuse to call this the end of the season,” he said.
“The things that I wanted to improve on this week, I did. Off the tee was much better. I’m probably leading strokes gained off the tee. I just couldn’t get the speed of the greens all week, and I struggled to see lines and to feel the speed. That was really the story of the week.
“I definitely improved from tee to green this week, and as I said, I just couldn’t get a putt to drop. But my game feels close. It certainly isn’t far away.”
McIlroy has represented Europe at every Ryder Cup since 2010
McIlroy admitted to struggling to find a spark following his long-awaited maiden Masters win. The Ryder Cup has often brought out the best of McIlroy, with his combative streak to the fore in Italy two years ago in a heated confrontation with Joe LaCava, Patrick Cantlay’s caddie.
First up however is the opportunity to showcase his talent on home soil as well as the chance to avenge last year’s BMW PGA play-off defeat to Billy Horschel
“Those are two big weeks for me to try to extend my lead in the Race to Dubai,” he said. “That’s become a pretty important thing for me. I’m chasing a little bit of history there. I want to put my head down and play well those couple weeks.
“They’re sort of like two home tournaments for me, Ireland being my national open, and then we live pretty much on the course at Wentworth.
“They are a big couple weeks to try to play well but also sharpen up different aspects of the game going into the Ryder Cup.”
Rasmus Hojgaard will look to defend his title after his late surge denied McIlroy at Royal County Down last September.
The Dane took home the winner’s cheque for just over €920,000 with an overall prize fund of €6m.