Rory McIlroy admits he is enjoying a break after his triumph at the US Open - but is already focusing on winning another major.
Northern Irishman now up to third in the world rankings
Rory McIlroy admits he is enjoying a break after his triumph at the US Open - but the Northern Irishman is already focusing on winning another major.
The 22-year-old clinched a record victory at Congressional, finishing up eight shots clear on a record 16-under-par total in Washington.
Since then the Ryder Cup star has opted to enjoy a well-deserved rest, with plans to attend Wimbledon on Tuesday and also head to Hamburg for David Haye's heavyweight showdown with Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday.
However, McIlroy is not taking his eye off the ball completely, even if he's not hitting many of them right now, as he gears up for an assault at this year's Open at Royal St George's.
Good chance
"To have these 10 days off is very nice - now I can try to win The Open," he told
Sky Sports News.
"A lot of things go into winning a tournament. Obviously there's preparation and needing to play well - and you need a bit of luck.
"But I feel as if I'm playing well and have a really good chance of winning and that's all you can ask for."
McIlroy added that he has not had time yet to reflect on his stunning performance in winning the US Open.
"I've been so busy, but when I do I'm sure it'll sink in," he said.
"All I wanted to do was get in a position to win again. I had a tough loss at The Masters - everyone knows about that - and I felt I learnt a lot.
"But I didn't know how much until I put myself in that position again and luckily I was able to do it.
"I handled the ball the whole week a lot better. It went in my favour and it was great to get that first win."
With Martin Kaymer unable to secure a top-eight finish in the BMW International Open at the weekend, McIlroy is now third in the world, behind only English duo Luke Donald and Lee Westwood.
Working hard
"We saw Lee get to number one in the world and Luke has been very consistent for the last two years," he said.
"We're working hard to beat one another and strive to be better than everyone else."
While McIlroy is on the rise, former world number one Tiger Woods continues to slide down the rankings.
The American, whose last title came in November 2008, has been out of action since mid-May because of knee and Achilles injuries - he has yet to decide whether he is fit enough for The Open on July 14-17.
"It's a good time for me to win things when he's not playing his best," said McIlroy on Woods.
"The first thing for Tiger is to get healthy and see what happens from there.
"I don't know if anyone can answer if he'll get back to where he was 10 years ago, but a lot of people would like to see him back on the course."
