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US PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy says he will head to Valhalla in form of his life

AKRON, OH - AUGUST 03:  Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates after winning the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational with a score of -15
Image: Rory McIlroy: Has taken back-to-back victories at the Open and WGC-Bridgestone Invitational

Rory McIlroy says he is in the best form of his life after backing up his Open success by winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.

The Northern Irishman will head into this week’s US PGA Championship back on top of the world rankings and in the midst of a rich vein of form.

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At Valhalla he will be aiming to regain the title he won in 2012, a year in which he finished top of the money list on both sides of the Atlantic.

But McIlroy feels his Open triumph at Hoylake and victory at Firestone Country Club indicate that he is now playing at a higher level than he was two years ago.

"This is better. I'm more in control of my ball and my ball flight. Mentally, I'm really sharp,” the 25-year-old said.

"It was the most comfortable I've ever felt trying to close out a golf tournament out there (on Sunday). I felt normal. I felt like it was the first round or the second round. It didn't feel like a fourth round.

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Mental strength

"When I say mentally it's the best I've ever been, I didn't get ahead of myself. I didn't start to think about my score. I didn't think about where I was in the tournament. I just kept playing my shot after shot after shot."

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McIlroy back to world No 1

With Adam Scott narrowly failing to secure the top-five finish he needed to prevent McIlroy from overtaking him, the Northern Irishman's lead at the top of the rankings is just 0.17 points.

The battle for top spot will continue at the final major of the season but McIlroy says he is more focused on tournament victories than rankings.

He added: "It's a nice honour and it's a nice title to have, but I don't think you should go into tournaments thinking about it or thinking, 'Oh, this guy could pass me if I don't finish in this position, or this guy could do this".'

"I think you just go and you play and you try to win golf tournaments, and if you win golf tournaments, the ranking takes care of itself.

“My goal now until the end of the year is just to try to win as many golf tournaments as I can. It's not to try to finish No 1 in the world. It's just to get as many titles as possible.

"I feel like the run of golf courses we've got coming up are going to suit me. I haven't seen Valhalla, but from what I heard you need to hit it pretty long and drive the ball well."

You can watch the US PGA Championship live on Sky Sports 4 HD from 6pm on Thursday

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