Rory McIlroy skips Canadian Open to focus on US Open preparation
Rory McIlroy has opted to skip this week’s Canadian Open in Toronto to focus his preparations on the upcoming US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The Northern Irishman has reversed his usual preference for playing a competitive tournament immediately before a major championship.
This decision aligns his schedule with world number one Scottie Scheffler, who traditionally avoids competing the week prior to prestige events.
Managing the major schedule
McIlroy has historically favoured staying sharp with competitive golf right up until a major begins.
“Before, I’m all for,” he said.
“After, I wouldn’t. I’m not a huge fan of it, but there’s only so many weeks in the year. I really like playing the week before if it makes sense.”
However, the four-time major winner is taking a different approach ahead of the action in Southampton, New York.
Scheffler has long maintained that rest is crucial for his tournament preparation.
“I typically don’t love playing the week before a major,” the American stated.
“It’s nice to have so many tournaments that are really good.”
“If y’all were to walk with me each day of the tournament and see what we have to do in order to play one week, having to do that four weeks in a row… I wouldn’t be able to perform my best.”
Driving improvements needed for Shinnecock
McIlroy recently secured a joint 12th-place finish alongside Scheffler and Justin Rose at the Memorial Tournament.
Following that result, he returned to his home on the Wentworth estate in Surrey to spend time with his family.
“I had a couple of weeks off and we got ourselves settled into our house in London for the summer,” he explained.
Despite the solid finish at the Memorial, the Holywood-born star admitted his game still requires fine-tuning.
“Off the tee still wasn’t where I want it to be,” he noted.
“Thankfully, the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here. But, yeah, still need to work on that. I need to work on how I’m hitting it off the tee.”
