Friday, July 8, 2011

Sports World

---

McIlroy planning his British Open return Posted: 08 Jul 2011 03:20 AM PDT Rory McIlroy has been the subject of intense scrutiny since winning the US Open and he is hoping his self-imposed three-week break will benefit him coming into the British Open. The Northern Irishman stormed to a wholly impressive win at Congressional and since then decided not to participate in either the French Open or Scottish Open. Those following the British Open odds may have raised an eyebrow at this. McIlroy claims his decision was to ensure he could "just concentrate on golf" upon his return to competitive action as he was forced to carry out to a host of media commitments following his victory. He will be the centre of attention when the British Open gets underway at Royal St George's and will undoubtedly have the largest crowd following him around. The British Open golf odds suggest this could put a bit of extra pressure on him. McIlroy reckons the course will give all the players a "good test of golf" and he has taken the opportunity to practice on the course during his break from competitive action. "I went down to Royal St George's on Tuesday and Wednesday so that I could get a good look before too many people were there," said the star. "The practice was great because we had one calm day and one when the wind got up so I got a great feel of what we can expect." Phil Mickelson is hoping to break his British Open duck at Royal St Georges and he seems to disagree with McIlroy's decision to skip the Scottish Open at Loch Lomand. The American star is playing the tournament to get some links practise and he has stated the winner of the British Open "will be in the field" of the Scottish Open, though he was quick to deny speculation he was running McIlroy out of the running for the title.

You are subscribed to email updates from Sports World To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610