Rory McIlroy insists he has mentally recovered from seeing an Irish Open victory slip through his fingers, but physical issues may be a factor in the BMW PGA Championship.
McIlroy looked on course to claim his second Irish Open title on Sunday when he led by two shots with four holes to play at Royal County Down, just an hour from where he grew up.
But while Rasmus Hojgaard completed a superb closing 65 with four birdies in the last five holes – including three in a row from the 16th – McIlroy bogeyed the 15th and 17th and missed an eagle putt on the 18th to force a play-off.
"I’m glad for the opportunity to get back on the horse again," McIlroy said at Wentworth, where he won the title in 2014.
"I think there may be a misconception that it hit me harder than it maybe did. You know, I didn’t really feel like I necessarily lost the tournament. I felt like Rasmus went out and won it – shot 31 on the back nine.
"So yeah, I shouldn’t have missed the green right on 15 and I misjudged the first putt on 17. But looking back on Sunday and the support of the crowds and that scene on 18 and everything, it was amazing to be a part of.
"Obviously just trying to look for the positives in all of it but happy to be here at Wentworth, the sun is shining, there’s not many better places to be.
"My game is feeling like it’s in pretty good shape and I feel like I have another chance to win a really big tournament that means a lot to me.
"It feels like quite a long time since I won at Quail Hollow back in May, and I’ve come close here a couple of times. I was second to Francesco (Molinari) in 2018, second to Shane (Lowry) in 2022.
"My form at this tournament over the last few years has been very good so it would be nice to just get another win on the board.
"It would just be wonderful to give myself another chance. Every Sunday that I get myself into contention is an opportunity but also a day to test myself and learn from the good, the bad and everything else."
McIlroy struggled with a nagging cough during his pre-tournament press conference and revealed the culprit was his daughter Poppy.
"I’m OK, I feel a bit better than I was (on Tuesday)," McIlroy said.
"Poppy’s had a cough for a couple weeks, gave it to me last week. Started feeling pretty rough Monday, Tuesday so went to the doctor, on a course of antibiotics and I feel, energy-wise, better than I did (on Tuesday).
"I’ll be a bit wheezy this week but nothing I can’t handle."
McIlroy will partner Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose and defending champion Ryan Fox in the first two rounds at Wentworth as he bids to increase his lead at the top of the Race to Dubai.
A sixth money-list title would take McIlroy level with Seve Ballesteros and within two of record-holder Colin Montgomerie, who won seven in a row from 1993-99 and his eighth in 2005.
Meanwhile, McIlroy believes the US Department of Justice and a 50-50 split between players on both sides pose the biggest obstacles to a peace deal in golf's civil war.
Talks between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which bankrolls LIV Golf, have been ongoing since the signing of a framework agreement in June 2023.
McIlroy welcomed the optimism about finally agreeing a deal which emerged from the latest discussions in New York last week, but knows any such deal will be subject to scrutiny from the DOJ, which has already forced a non-solicitation clause to be removed from the framework agreement.
Asked what the biggest stumbling blocks to a deal were, McIlroy said: "Department of Justice. Maybe different interests from the players’ side.
"I’d say maybe half the players on LIV want the deal to get done, half probably don’t. I’d say it’s probably similar on the PGA Tour.
"Because just like anything, everyone’s looking out for themselves and their best interests. It would benefit some people for a deal not to get done, but it would obviously benefit some people for a deal to get done.
"It seems like the people that are really making the decisions are all rowing in the same direction, which is a really good thing [but] even if they are all rowing in the same direction, it still doesn’t mean that a deal may get done because it’s just a very complicated set of circumstances.
"But from what I hear there’s optimism there, and that’s good to see."
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