Rory McIlroy gets coaching tune-up for US Open
Practice rounds are planned for today and tomorrow after talks with Dave Stockton
World number two Rory McIlroy is off to the US Open venue at Merion to practice after a talk with coach Dave Stockton to try to lift his game before next week's major showdown.
The champion from Northern Ireland, who won his first major title at the 2011 US Open, spoke at Oak Hill, where he will defend his most recent major triumph at the 95th PGA Championship in August.
"It is the strongest field in golf and it's great to be able to come out on top in a field like that," said McIlroy, 25, who won last year's PGA crown at Kiawah Island.
McIlroy will play practice rounds today and tomorrow at Merion as he tries to fine tune a game that has seen him produce four top-10 showings in US PGA events, including a second at the Texas Open, but only a share of 25th at the Masters and 57th last week at the Memorial.
"I'm playing pretty well. I need it all to click into place and once I do that, I'll be off and running," McIlroy said. "All parts of my game are there. I just need to sort of put them all together for one week.
"I'm feeling good. I'm looking forward to seeing Merion. So it's just about getting to know the course there and being as comfortable with it as you can.