Rory McIlroy visibly struggled over the first two days of The Players Championship, with the former champion carding a 76 and 73 as he finished three shots back of the cut line at TPC Sawgrass.
It had been a disappointing few days for McIlroy, who perhaps was struggling with fatigue given the competitive golf, as well as frequently standing up for the interests of the PGA Tour in the media. Now, speaking after his second round, McIlroy has admitted that he would "love to get back to being a golfer."
McIlroy with PGA Tour Commissioner, Jay Monahan, after the 2022 FedEx Cup
Asked about whether fatigue has played a part, the Northern Irishman admitted that "it is fair,” adding “I’d love to get back to being a golfer. It’s been a busy couple of weeks. It’s been a busy sort of six or eight months. But everything has sort of been announced now and the wheels have been put in motion. So it should quieten down from here.”
Describing his golf at The Players as "very blah," his attention now turns to the Masters in April, with the 33-year-old looking to claim the Green Jacket to complete the career Grand Slam. Despite missing the cut at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy is in very good form, securing the Dubai Desert Classic and multiple top 10 finishes since January of this year.
“The golf out here, that’s fine, but it’s just more the time at home to make sure you’re getting prepared, to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to be ready once you show up to these weeks," stated McIlroy. "That’s where I’ve maybe sacrificed a little bit of time with some of this other stuff. As I said, I’m ready to get back to being purely a golfer."
Revealing that he is heading to Augusta National on Monday and Tuesday for practice rounds before the Masters starts on the 6th - 9th April, it's unclear as to whether McIlroy will play again ahead of the first Major, but his focus is "making sure my game is in shape for Augusta".
"(It's) Making sure that I've got all the shots. Making sure that I familiarize myself with the golf course again and go up there for a couple of days. But yeah, from now all the way until the start of April, it's really just all about getting ready for Augusta."
