McIlroy happy to be playing
Northern Irishman took the chance to go to Olympic Club last week
Last Updated: June 7, 2012 4:13pm
Rory McIlroy: has failed to qualify for the weekend in his last three tournaments
An out-of-form Rory McIlroy hopes the decision to play at the St Jude Classic pays off before he begins the defence of his US Open title.
The Northern Irishman doesn't normally play competitively the week before a major, but has made an exception this time around due to his recent poor run.
"I'm happy to get another competitive tournament in before next week. It'll be nice to turn around my form here this week and give myself a chance to win."
Rory McIlroy Quotes of the week
McIlroy has missed the cut at his last three events, including shooting a seven-over-par 79 in his second round at the Memorial in Ohio last Friday.
"Getting here and playing the course this morning, and seeing how excited people are just to have us here, I'm really happy to be here," he said after competing in the pro-am competition.
"I'm happy to get another competitive tournament in before next week. It'll be nice to turn around my form here this week and give myself a chance to win."
Future schedule
The 23-year-old admits that success in Memphis could lead to a permanent change in his schedule, adding: "If this week I play well and go into the US Open feeling really good about my game and I play well there, it's something that I might do in the future.
"But the main thing this week is to just get some more competitive golf in ... the last three tournaments I've played I've only played for two days and just haven't really felt like I've gotten into the tournaments."
At least McIlroy made the most of his failure to qualify for the weekend at the Memorial - it allowed him to go to San Francisco and play some rounds at the Olympic Club - the venue for next week's US Open.
"I went out and played a little at Olympic on Saturday evening, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday," he said.
"It was good to play a few rounds there and get a feel for the golf course.
"I did a lot of good work with my coach Michael Bannon right there in San Francisco. Even though it wasn't the way I wanted to spend the weekend, I still felt I got a lot out of it."
