Ace golfer Rory McIlroy has said he has adjusted himself with no crowds by now as he aims to end his major drought at this week's US PGA Championship. The first major since the COVD-19 pandemic begins at Harding Park in San Francisco on Thursday. "Obviously it isn't new to us at this point," the Northern Irish golfer was quoted saying by the BBC.
Talking about absent crowds, McIlroy said, "We've been back playing on Tour for the last eight or nine weeks. I've found myself looking at leaderboards a little more just to see where I am on there and see where other people are. There's no feedback from anywhere else; there's even no scoreboard holders, so you don't even know how the guys in your group are doing, but at this point, we should all be used to it."
Adapting to the Trend
"We all wish that we were playing in front of fans and have it feel like a real major championship, but I think we're just lucky that we're able to play golf tournaments at this point. It's five tournaments in, I should be pretty much adapted to it now. If having to play golf without fans, if that's in the forefront of my mind as one of my biggest concerns, then everything is OK," added the 31-year-old golfer.
Memories Around a Golf Course
The four-time major winner added he is hopeful that memories of his 2015 WGC-Cadillac Match Play victory at this week's venue of Harding Park would work in his favor. "I think if I remember anything about the week is that I played well when I needed to and I hit good shots at the right times, and that's sort of what you need to do in match play," he added.
"It's nice to have some memories around a golf course that you're playing a major championship on. It's nice to have those memories and be able to recall some of the shots that you've hit. Hopefully, some of that can help me this week and can rekindle that sort of form that helped me win here a few years ago," said McIlroy.
