Rory McIlroy remembering 'Miracle of Medinah' at BMW Championship
Wednesday 14 August 2019 17:15, UK
Rory McIlroy is hoping to feed off “good vibes” at the BMW Championship as he makes his first competitive appearance at Medinah since Europe’s dramatic 2012 Ryder Cup success.
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McIlroy heads into the penultimate event of the season third in the FedExCup standings and only trailing Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed, his playing partners for the first two rounds in Chicago.
The new format for next week's season-ending Tour Championship sees the FedExCup leader start the week on 10 under and holding a two-shot lead, with McIlroy looking to move top of the standings ahead of Atlanta.
"It's another opportunity this week to try and climb a little bit higher going into Atlanta," McIlroy said. "I want to be 10 under par standing on that first tee in Atlanta next week so I know that I want to get to No. 1 and I need to win.
"It's hard enough to win golf tournaments when you're all starting on a level playing field, but whenever it's staggered like that, it's a tough proposition if someone like Brooks Koepka or Patrick Reed is starting two or three shots ahead of you.
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"72 holes is a lot of golf to play and things can happen, but I think it all evens out over the course of the week, and to spot guys of that calibre a few shots at the start of the week is pretty tough."
McIlroy famously nearly missed his tee time for the Sunday singles in 2012, where Europe overturned a 10-6 deficit on the final day to win the 'Miracle of Medinah', with the world No 3 requiring a police escort to arrive at the course with only minutes to spare.
The Northern Irishman's future wife, Erica Stoll, arranged the late journey to the course that day, although McIlroy is confident of avoiding similar issues this time around.
"You know, they did offer (a police escort) to me. So whether I take them up on it or not, I'm not sure," McIlroy added. "Hopefully I won't need it. We're staying a little closer to the course this time.
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"Erica [Stoll] that week was always the one that was checking us in and out. She was there at transportation, so she was always in the car park over there (by the clubhouse)
"It's still cool to look around and think about that week, and obviously everything that's happened since then. It's pretty cool."
Watch the BMW Championship throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday with Featured Groups from 3pm on Sky Sports Golf.
