Rory McIlroy was pleased to see Jon Rahm end his standoff with the DP World Tour and remain eligible for next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
The Basque star announced earlier this week that he'd settled his unpaid fines and can now play the required events he needs to retain his membership and remain eligible for selection by Luke Donald.
“I think it's good that we have it all behind us,” McIlroy told Golf Channel ahead of the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow this week.
“I think as a European Ryder Cup player, we all know that having Jon on the team is better than not having him on the team.
“So look, I'm glad that they came to an agreement. It took him a little longer to get there than some of the other guys, but he got there in the end, thankfully.
“It's good that we can put that behind us and move forward.”
McIlroy will tee off at 4:33 pm Irish time, later than initially planned due to an early morning storm, alongside English duo Matt Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose.
His big goal this week is to drive the ball straighter than he did at the Masters, so he arrives at bunker-strewn Aronimink for next week’s PGA Championship with a chance to win his seventh Major and third Wanamaker Trophy.
“Diving accuracy,” he said of the area he's focused on this week. “I didn't drive the ball as well as I would like to at Augusta, but I felt like every other aspect of the game was really good, and I managed my game well, which you need to do most weeks
“The big thing that I'm proudest of was, I struggled so much on the Saturday at Augusta, and then to go and spend that time with Harry on the range and figure a couple of things out, and then go into Sunday and have it stick and trust it, and go on to win, that was something I was really proud of.
“But, yeah, I just need to get the ball in the fairway more.”
The Holywood star gained in confidence at the Masters by winning without his best stuff and by gaining clarity on his career goals.
“I feel like the last decade of my career was all about, you know, can I win the Masters, and can I complete the slam?” he said.
“And when I did that, I never really thought about what was on the other side of that. And it took me a while.
“When we were here (at Quail Hollow) for the PGA last year, I was still in a bit of a weird place where I didn't know what the other side of that looked like.
“But we went on a few months, and you start to get more comfortable with where you're at and where your place in the game is, and then you start to think about the future, and you start to think about what you would like to achieve.
“And I think this year's Masters was almost like the start of a new chapter. It was like validation for winning last year.
“It’s like, this is me starting a new chapter and not leaving the last 10 years behind, but really just thinking about the future, and I feel even more motivated than I have before, because it's given me the belief that, okay, I can win the Masters, playing like that at certain times.
“And that to me gives me a lot of confidence going forward.”
Article Link: “Having Jon on the team is better than not having him” - McIlroy welcomes Rahm back to fold - News - Irish Golf Desk