PINEHURST, N.C. — If golf is a large, deep swimming pool, Rory McIlroy has taken a dive in off the three-meter board.
Head first.
To listen to McIlroy speak Wednesday, on the eve of the opening round of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, one thing was abundantly clear: His life – right now, at least — is about golf, golf and nothing but golf.
“Golf has sort of been a nice release for me the past few weeks,” McIlroy said. “I just want to try to keep focused on that.”
If McIlroy’s focus at last month’s BMW Championship is any indicator, he might just be hoisting his second career U.S. Open trophy by day’s end Sunday.
In a whirlwind week, McIlroy announced the breakup of his very public engagement to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki on the eve of the BMW, one of the European Tour’s signature events. McIlroy was open with his feelings regarding his personal life in a press conference that was, at times, uncomfortable to watch.
Then he went out and won the tournament, his first victory since the 2012 PGA Championship, which was his lay-the-hammer-down moment in solidifying and validating his world No. 1 ranking.
As has been well-documented, 2013 was a lost year for McIlroy — a black hole — as he changed equipment companies, struggled on the course and endured turmoil with his management company.
McIlroy burns to be No. 1 again, being on top of the golf world the way he was in 2012, and that means getting back to winning major championships, perhaps beginning this week.
Getting there is all about honing in on his golf while freezing out all other distractions.
“I’ve stayed off social media for the most part the last few weeks, and I’m going to continue to do that for the foreseeable future,’’ McIlroy said. “I’m really enjoying my golf at the minute, and just making that the No. 1 priority. That’s what I want to continue to do, and I feel like, if I do that, it will give me a great chance to win some of these big tournaments coming up.”
He conceded the public nature of his personal life is “hard’’ to deal with.
“I just want to live my life like a normal 25-year-old,’’ McIlroy said. “I know that’s sometimes hard to do, because of the public spotlight that I’m under or whatever it is. I’m playing, practicing, doing all that I can to be the best player that I can be. But, yeah, of course, you need a balance in your life where you are interested in other things. I’m no different than any other 25-year-old in the world. I want to go out and see my friends, have some fun.’’
The only fun McIlroy said he wants to have now is winning golf tournaments again. He won the 2011 U.S. Open and the 2012 PGA and is seeking his third major championship this week.
When asked what he learned about himself by going out and winning the BMW immediately after his breakup, McIlroy said, “I don’t know if I learned anything. I just went out and tried to play the 18 holes I was playing out there as best as I could, and that was really it. It’s nice when you get out on the golf course because you’ve got that five hours just out there with your clubs, with your caddie, trying to shoot the best score possible.
“That’s the approach that I’m sort of adopting from now until whenever. I’m really enjoying my golf at the minute. I just want to try and become the best player that I can be, and all the work that I’m doing outside of the tournaments has allowed me to go in there and play as good as I can. There’s been times this year when my golf has been really good and I’ve felt like it’s been close to the point where I can win major championships again.”
McIlroy’s year has been strong, despite never really contending at the Masters, where he finished tied for eighth. He’s played in nine PGA Tour-sanctioned events and has not finished out of the top 25, with six top-10s. And those stats do not include his BMW win.
“I’m just really enjoying my golf at the minute … finding my love for the game again,’’ McIlroy said. “I feel like my game is in a good place, and I want to try to prolong that as much as I can.”