<p>Rory McIlroy</p>
Rory McIlroy saw positive signs but headed back to London last night, insisting he still has work to do to be ready for the US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
The Masters champion closed with a four-under 68 to tie for 12th on four under in the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, eight shots behind JT Poston (72) who beat Ryan Gerard (68) with a par at the second play-off hole..
While he didn’t quite achieve his goal of contending for Jack Nicklaus’ tournament, he will spend the next six days working at his Wentworth base to get ready for the third Major of the season at a venue where diabolical green complexes will be a challenge.
“It was sort of like two steps forward, one step back,” the world number two said after a round that began with five birdies in his first six holes before petering out.
“I actually felt like I played some of my best golf on Friday afternoon, and we just got tough conditions, and it was just hard coming in.
“Then yesterday, I felt like I left a few out there, and then today as well, after the fast start, it would have been nice to keep that going, but I wasn't quite able to keep the momentum that I had on that front nine.
“But overall, not a bad week, got some good stuff out of it, and you know, I've got a week to prep and get ready for Shinnecock.”
The world number two started with three birdies in a row, parred the fourth, then birdied the fifth and sixth before dropping a shot at the par five seventh when his attempted recovery from greenside rough went straight under the ball and barely moved.
Another shot went at the short 12th before he followed a birdie at the 14th with four pars to finish.
Picking out the positives, he said: “I’d say my iron play was better, wedge play was good. Off the tee still wasn't where I want it to be.
“Thankfully, the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here, so I still need to work on how I'm hitting it off the tee, but everything else, putting, felt pretty good for the most part.
“As I said, iron play and wedges were pretty nice, so I’ll just try to keep getting a little bit better each and every day, heading into Shinnecock.”
As for his driving, he said: “I get a little bit underneath it, and then I'll release it, and then it'll overturn a little bit. I have to have to try to get the club back out in front of me, but then when it gets out in front of me, if I do get it there, then it's about having the right release pattern on the way through.”
It was a case of what might have been in Ohio for Shane Lowry, who closed with a one-over 73 to finish on one under par.
The Clara man birdied the fifth and sixth before making an eagle three at the seventh following a sensational 250-yard approach to just 11 feet.
A top 10 finish was on the cards but he lost momentum around the turn, dropping four shots in a row from the eighth and another with a three-putt at the par-three 16th to finish tied foe 22nd on one under.
Article Link: 'It was like two steps forward, one step back' - McIlroy still with wrk to do for US Open - News - Irish Golf Desk