McIlroy 'excited' to make RBC Canadian Open debut

HAMILTON, Ontario – Rory McIlroy is already making the most of his RBC Canadian Open debut.

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The winner of THE PLAYERS Championship arrived in Canada Sunday and took in Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors in Toronto. It’s the first time the Raptors have ever made the Finals, and McIlroy was impressed at the atmosphere.

“It was really loud on Sunday night. It was really cool to be there and be a part of,” said McIlroy. “It was a great experience.”

Although he’s not yet ventured too far from Hamilton – to laughs, he said he made it to a local Whole Foods last night – he might pop over to Niagara Falls after his round Thursday.

It’s all been part of his first RBC Canadian Open, an event he’s watched on TV before but never played. He’s excited to be teeing it up at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, an old-style layout that’s been met with rave reviews.

“I've heard a lot of great things about Hamilton. I remember watching a little bit back in 2012,” said McIlroy, “and I’m excited to be here. It's a very strategic golf course. You've got to put it in play off the tee, and I'm definitely going to have to drive it better this week than I did last week.”

McIlroy’s first missed cut of the year came last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. Otherwise, he’s had one of the most impressive seasons on the PGA TOUR thus far.

His win at THE PLAYERS was one of nine top-10 finishes on the season out of 12 events played.

McIlroy finished T-8 at the PGA Championship three weeks ago, and he said he already has his eyes on the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach next week.

Pebble Beach and Hamilton will play at similar lengths, and the golf course for the Canadian Open is going to “definitely” be a perfect place to prepare.

McIlroy said he also spoke with Brad Faxon – with whom he works with on putting – about Hamilton Golf and Country Club before teeing it up this week. Faxon lost in a playoff to Bob Tway in 2003, but McIlroy said he raved about the old-style layout.

“Even just playing the front nine there this morning, you know, there's a variety of different tee shots that you need to hit, different clubs. The putting surfaces, the greens are going to be very similar, poa-type of grass,” he said of the Hamilton and Pebble Beach comparison.

“The rough's pretty thick. If you miss it in the rough, you're doing well to get it up by the green, and then you know, if you do miss greens, it's going to be pretty similar in terms of the lies that you get,” he added.

But, McIlroy said he wasn’t treating this as just a lead-in to next week at a major. He said his time in Canada has been fun so far, but he has a tournament to win.

“This isn't just a preparation week,” he said. “This is a very prestigious tournament, one of the oldest tournaments in the world that I would dearly love to be able to add my name to.”