Rory McIlroy's Prep for The Open is Already Underway

CROMWELL, Conn. — Rory McIlroy, after a tough weekend at the U.S. Open, decided to skip this week’s Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, the final Signature Event of the PGA TOUR season. Instead, he took a trip across the pond for a scouting trip at Royal Birkdale, the host course of next month’s Open.

Nick Faldo, who McIlroy tied with six major championships earlier this year at the Masters, was at Birkdale doing some prep for Sky Sports and happened to run into the Northern Irishman.

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Royal Birkdale last hosted the Open in 2017, when Jordan Spieth claimed the Claret Jug. McIlroy had himself a week, too, shooting 3 under on Sunday to finish in a tie for fourth. In his last four Open starts, McIlroy has finished T-7 or better three times, including a tie for seventh a year ago in his home country.

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McIlroy has started to prioritize the biggest events in golf, so it’s no surprise to see him already prepping for the year’s final major championship—it worked pretty well at Augusta National.