Rory McIlroy has one thing to fix before British Open Championship

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – The clip went viral instantaneously.

Rory McIlroy watched as he hoisted his approach shot high into the air on the par-4 16th on Sunday and it began to veer further and further left.

“I’m so bad at golf,” McIlroy exclaimed loud enough for the television microphones to pick it up, walking after his ball that had now nestled down in the fescue well left of the green.

Of course, McIlroy isn’t bad at golf. As he struck the shot, he was inside the top five at the Genesis Scottish Open and compiling the round of the day. But it did illuminate the one issue McIlroy needs to fix if he wants to do more than flirt with contention at next week’s The Open Championship.

His iron play.

The issue isn’t new. McIlroy has cited the struggles a left-to-right wind can cause, particularly when he practices with it on the range. His club face and club path veer too far left and cause errant left misses.

That happened again this week and caused his swing to fall out of sorts for long enough to keep him from the winner’s circle. He co-led after 36 holes and felt great about his game. But the miss started showing on Saturday and was exaggerated by the weather delay that kept him out of rhythm. The result: He ranked well below average with his approach play because of misses just like the 16th. He lost more than two strokes to the field in his third round.

“At least I know what I’m doing, McIlroy said. “It's a matter of trying to sort of rectify it.”

Can he fix it in time? McIlroy will travel to Southport Sunday night to get three full days of practice at Royal Birkdale. McIlroy scouted the course two weeks ago, which will allow him extra time to focus on his swing rather than the course. He said he just needs to practice in the opposite wind, right-to-left, to help straighten out his swing.

There was a lot of good in McIlroy’s week otherwise. He led the field in driving, a notable development as he’s had small dips with his favorite club, and putted well in the adjustment to slower, links greens. Those will be pivotal pieces for McIlroy’s push for his second claret jug.

They won’t matter if McIlroy can’t fix out the iron play. That was McIlroy’s main takeaway after he shot a 6-under 64 on Sunday that easily could have been a few shots better.

He made waves early, rocketing up the leaderboard and pulling within one shot of the lead while on the back nine. But a few too many mistakes, mostly with his irons in the third round, meant his showing was only a matinee for the true consequence that came late Sunday evening.

“That was the difference between 73 (on Saturday) and 64 (on Sunday),” McIlroy said.

McIlroy remains stuck on just one win this season, though it’s a good one to have. Since winning the Masters in April, he has made only five starts. This week at The Renaissance Club was the closest he got to contention. It’s also his second top 10 in that span. He finished tied for seventh at the PGA Championship.

“I know I need to do a bit of work between now and next Thursday to feel really comfortable with my game,” McIlroy said. “But I don't feel like it's too far away. But yeah, this is – there's definitely some positive signs.”