McIlroy's game 'feels close' as Ryder Cup nears
Masters champion Rory McIlroy says his "game feels close" as he prepares to return to Europe and ramp up his Ryder Cup preparations after the conclusion of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup.
Having finished tied 23rd in the 30-man Tour Championship, McIlroy will play in the Irish Open at the K Club and BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth in September before helping Europe's bid to retain the Ryder Cup in New York.
McIlroy leads the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai standings as he chases a seventh season-long title to surpass Seve Ballesteros and move within one of Colin Montgomerie's record.
"Those are two big weeks for me to try to extend my lead in the Race to Dubai," said 36-year-old McIlroy.
"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."
McIlroy's sole Irish Open triumph came at the K Club in 2016 while he missed out on a second BMW PGA title last year when he lost to Billy Horschel in a play-off.
"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," added McIlroy, who attended the US Open tennis in New York after Sunday's final round at East Lake.
"Big couple of weeks to try to play well but also sharpen up different aspects of the game going into the Ryder Cup."
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'It certainly isn't far away'
McIlroy started well at the Tour Championship with rounds of 66 and 67 before slipping back over the weekend with a 70 and 71 to finish 12 shots adrift of Tommy Fleetwood.
"I hit it better," the five-time major winner said when asked to sum up his week.
"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. My putting was so good last week at Caves [Valley, at the BMW Championship] and then my off-the-tee play wasn't good and it sort of just inverted.
"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."
The Tour Championship saw McIlroy return to Georgia, where earlier this year he finally clinched the Masters title to complete the career Grand Slam.
"I actually did a couple of things for Augusta National this week," he said.
"I didn't go there, but there was a couple things I had to do. I had the Green Jacket on for a few hours on Wednesday doing something. It was nice to reminisce. They made me cry again."
