Rory McIlroy was struggling to have fun on PGA Tour until being taught 'great lesson'
Rory McIlroy feels revitalised going into the Wells Fargo Championship after returning to winning ways at the Zurich Classic last time out.
McIlroy, 35, earned PGA Tour title No. 25 in New Orleans alongside good friend Shane Lowry, nine months after his last success at the Scottish Open. The triumph at TPC Louisiana ended April on a high for the four-time major champion after struggling at the Masters.
But away from the result, McIlroy believes how fun the whole week was has helped enhance his enthusiasm. The Zurich Classic is the tour’s only team event and is a tournament the Northern Irishman had never previously played, only agreeing to play alongside Lowry during a drunken lunch after the Ryder Cup.
“The week in New Orleans did me the world of good just in terms of the fun element,” McIlroy told NBC after playing a practice round at Quail Hollow. “It was a lot of fun; we had a great time, regardless of the result.
“But then, obviously, the result was a bonus, too, and getting the win with Shane. And I think as well, with how I felt like my game came around, especially on the weekend there, I played great.
“We got off to a bit of a slow start Saturday, but I think I played the last ten holes on Saturday at six-under, and then I played a super solid round of golf on Sunday even though I only hit half of the shots, the shots that I did hit I thought were pretty good.
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Rory McIlroy celebrates winning the Zurich Classic with Shane Lowry
“Then to win with a friend and what that did for both of our seasons, right? It got Shane into the last few signature events.
“It got us both up the FedEx Cup points list quite a bit. And it gave us a lot of confidence going into the meat of the season and the summer. So, yeah, it was a great week.
“I’m so glad that we were able to do it and play, and, yeah, it definitely makes me excited about the rest of the year now.
“I think when you’re going through a spell of golf where you’re not getting the results that you want, it’s hard to have fun, right? It’s hard to keep your enthusiasm. It’s hard to keep that positive mindset, week in, week out.
“That was my fourth week in a row, and I was saying to my team last week, it’s a great lesson for me that when things aren’t going great, sometimes it’s not about going back home and working on your game and standing on the range.
“It’s about trying to play, and play through it and understand what your misses are and how to manage.
“It was a good lesson to me that sometimes just to keep going is the right thing to do, and to keep playing and to keep working on what you’re working on and having faith that it is all going to come together at some point.”