Rory McIlroy plans an aggressive approach at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

Rory McIlroy is planning a more assertive approach in the Arnold Palmer Invitational as he looks to bounce back from squandering a four-shot lead in his last event.

The 26-year-old took a three-shot lead into the final round of the WGC-Cadillac Championship 10 days ago and moved another stroke clear when nearest challengers Adam Scott and Dustin Johnson both made early mistakes.

But the World No 2 then paid the price for adopting a conservative strategy and struggled to a closing 74 as Scott recovered from a six-shot deficit to win his second tournament in succession.

It was the first time McIlroy had failed to convert a lead of three shots or more after 54 holes since collapsing to a closing 80 in the 2011 Masters, but he Irishman believes he has learnt from the experience.

"It was a tough one because if I go out there, I shoot 71, I win the golf tournament," McIlroy said. "Doral is a tough place with the wind to play with the lead because there's danger lurking around every corner and if you're going to make mistakes, you're conscious of limiting it to a shot.

"I played the way I thought I needed to play, I just didn't hit close enough. I didn't have a realistic birdie chance inside 25 feet until the 12th hole.

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"I was playing smart and hitting it to 30 feet but you're not going to make birdies, you're not going to gain ground on the field by doing that.

"Three bogeys on a day like that wasn't too bad but to only make one birdie I felt was my downfall and if I had to take it back, I would have played a little bit more aggressively."

Watch the Arnold Palmer Invitational throughout the week live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf. Live featured group coverage gets underway on Thursday from 11.30am.