Rory McIlroy admitted his fifth-placed finish at the Memorial Tournament had come as a timely boost ahead of the US Open.
Northern Irishman especially pleased with putting ahead of US Open
Rory McIlroy admitted his fifth place finish at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio had come as a timely boost ahead of next week's US Open.
The Northern Irish youngster performed solidly all week but was particularly pleased with his putting at Muirfield Village with the season's second major now on the horizon.
McIlroy suffered huge disappointment at the first when he endured a final-round meltdown at Augusta to see his hopes of clinching the Masters evaporate.
But he now feels in good shape to contend again, although he acknowledged he still has one or two aspects of his game to work on with the tough Congressional Country Club lay-out in mind.
"It was a great way to finish the tournament," McIlroy said after posting an 11-under total of 277 at Muirfield Village.
"I played really good this week. I just made a few too many mistakes, which really cost me.
"We'll have to try and cut those out before the US Open in a couple of weeks' time. But there are definitely a lot of positives to take from how I've played.
"I putted the ball really good this week... and that's a huge positive to take into the US Open.
Strategy
"Everything is pretty good. If anything, I just need a little bit of strategy more than anything else. If you're going to miss shots, miss it in the right places. This week if you miss greens it's very penal here and you get punished quite easily.
"It's the same as the US Open. If you miss it in the wrong places there, you're looking at a five or a six. So it's just something I need to address a little bit."
McIlroy went into Sunday's final round in Ohio five strokes off the pace and ended it five behind eventual champion Steve Stricker.
The 22-year-old conceded he had left himself just too much to do to challenge, but remained satisfied with his efforts.
"I got it to four-under (for the round), and I thought if I could maybe get 14 or 15-under-par for the tournament it would have a chance," he added.
"But even that wouldn't have been good enough today. I'm happy with how I played. I could have been a little bit better, but it's been a good week."
