Rory McIlroy: Masters champion’s game ‘feels close’ as Ryder Cup nears

McIlroy started well at the Tour Championship with rounds of 66 and 67 before slipping back over the weekend with a 70 and 71 to finish 12 shots adrift of Tommy Fleetwood.

“I hit it better,” the five-time major winner said when asked to sum up his week.

“The things that I wanted to improve on this week, I did. Off the tee was much better. I’m probably leading strokes gained off the tee.

“I just couldn’t get the speed of the greens all week, and I struggled to see lines and to feel the speed. That was really the story of the week. My putting was so good last week at Caves [Valley, at the BMW Championship] and then my off-the-tee play wasn’t good and it sort of just inverted.

“I definitely improved from tee to green this week, and as I said, I just couldn’t get a putt to drop. But my game feels close. It certainly isn’t far away.”

The Tour Championship saw McIlroy return to Georgia, where earlier this year he finally clinched the Masters title to complete the career Grand Slam.

“I actually did a couple of things for Augusta National this week,” he said.

“I didn’t go there, but there was a couple things I had to do. I had the Green Jacket on for a few hours on Wednesday doing something. It was nice to reminisce. They made me cry again.”