Rory McIlroy looking forward to 'target golf' at Travelers Championship

Rory McIlroy is looking forward to a "change of pace" this week as he makes his debut at the Travelers Championship where he aims to rebuild his confidence after a poor performance at the US Open.

McIlroy admitted his game was rusty as he failed to make the weekend of the US Open for the second year running, although he arrived at Erin Hills having been sidelined since aggravating a rib-joint injury at The Players Championship in mid-May.

His missed cut saw him drop to third in the world rankings behind Dustin Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama, but he is relishing the chance to play some "target golf" at TPC River Highlands, where Jim Furyk created history last year as he became the first player in PGA Tour history to card a 58.

"I love the course, and it's a little change of pace from what we played last week at Erin Hills," said McIlroy at his pre-tournament press conference. "After the storm on Monday the ball is not going anywhere once it hits, so it's pretty much target golf from there. Hopefully the breeze continues over a few days and it firms up a little bit.

"But the golf course is great. I can see why Jim Furyk hit 58 last year and why guys can go so low. If you're on with your scoring clubs, it gives you a lot of opportunities.

"The US Open is such a grind, but if you want to play a round of golf, there is no better place to come than here where you can make birdies. The US Open can zap your confidence a little bit as well, so it's nice to come to a venue where you can see shots going close to the hole, you can see putts going in, you can make birdies.

"I actually think it's a great time to have an event straight after a US Open, and it's nice to get straight back on the horse and try again after a disappointing week last week. There is an awesome feel this week with the likes of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth, myself, Justin Thomas, Bubba, Jim Furyk - there are a lot of great players here."

McIlroy has won 22 professional titles worldwide including four majors in almost 10 years as a professional, but he is setting himself a target of winning even more over the next decade.

"It's going to be 10 years in September that I'm a pro, and I'm sort of looking at it as a 10-year journey," he added. "If I look back over 10 years, am I happy with where my career is at? I'd say, yes, I guess. But I definitely feel like in the next 10 years, 2018 to 2027, that I can do better.

"I always felt 2017 was going to be a bit of a transitional year, with Nike going out of the golf equipment business, getting married, moving and changing residences and all that sort of stuff, it was always going to be a transitional year. I didn't factor an injury into that as well.

"It feels like the first 10 years of my career is nearly over, but I've still got two majors to play in so I'd like to try to finish that 10 years very well. But I feel from me it seems 2017 is my window to do as much as I can to make my mark on my game, I guess, and see how many tournaments and majors I can win."

McIlroy also urged Tiger Woods to "forget about golf" and focus on his personal life after he announced earlier this week that he was receiving professional help to manage his medications for back pain and a sleep disorder.

"It's tough," he said. "I reached out to him whenever everything broke a few weeks ago and just making sure he was okay. I felt I built up a good relationship with Tiger over the last few years.

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"He's gone through a rough time the last few years with injuries and being in pain and not being able to sleep, and I totally understand how that can happen. So it's good that he's getting help, it's good that he's on the road to recovery and I guess everyone in golf and around the world just wishes him the best.

"That's really the thing that he feels more than anything else. He's felt an outpouring of love over the past few weeks after all this happened, and he really appreciates that. Hopefully forget the golf for a minute, and go back to being able to lead a normal life, raise his kids and have good times doing that."