Rory McIlroy will be a “more measured and controlled” player in 2022 as his main outright goals are not tournament wins but performance stats that will take him there.
McIlroy admitted last year that he was caught up in the distance race after Bryson DeChambeau’s 2020 US Open victory. But the four-time major winner is reining back on that as he begins in new season on Thursday at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, the DP World Tour opener.
‘I still want to do all those things’
“I used to sit down on the flight here and write down my year’s goals,” he said. “Like I want to win five times, I want to win a major, I want to win The Race to Dubai, I want to win the FedExCup.
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“Of course I still want to do all those things. I’d love to win six times in a season. I’ve never done that before.
“But I think the biggest thing is I want to hit over 60% of my fairways. I want my proximity inside 150 yards to be a certain number. I want my strokes gained putting to be a certain number.
“Having goals that are more objective and more that I’m in control of. I can’t control if I win five or six times a year. There’s so many other variables in there.”
‘It didn’t work out too badly for him’
As far as distance is concerned, he doesn’t need any more.
“I don’t need to (hit longer),” he continued. “That goal of hitting more fairways means throttling back and hitting three wood a little more often, hitting clubs that are not as aggressive off tees.
“Just putting yourself in the fairways and maybe being a little more measured and controlled golfer.
“I’ll pick my spots where I can take advantage of the driver and hit it. But the best player of the last 30 years picked and chose where he hit driver.
“I’m not comparing my game to Tiger’s but he played a very controlled game and didn’t work out too badly for him. There’s aspects of what he did so well I’d love to put into my game.”
It’s a new face for the old European Tour as it launches in 2022 under the DP World banner, and McIlroy believes it’s a great thing.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s ever been in a healthier position,” he said. “I think the alliance with the PGA Tour is massive.
‘It’s never been healthier’
“I think the young players that are coming through. I think of the fact that the first American ever won The Race to Dubai year in Collin Morikawa. There are young players coming through from either side of the pond that want to play over here and travel.
“Obviously the one disappointment for every European golf fan was The Ryder Cup last year. But I think it’s never been healthier. The tournaments are getting bigger. Sponsorship dollars are coming in to support event.
“Players are wanting to come back and play. I think it’s in a really good spot.”
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He has no specific view on the next European Ryder Cup captain, and doesn’t believe it’s necessary to name him – as is customary – during the first few weeks of this year.
“I wouldn’t want to name anyone because I wouldn’t want influence it one way or another,” he said. “There are a number of candidates and they would all do a wonderful job.
“It’s not just about the one individual. There’s a lot that goes into it and look, good captains lose sometimes, and that’s just the way it is. Pádraig was a great captain last time, and I didn’t play my part, and I’m sure the other players feel the same way.
“I don’t think it matters not naming him this week. It’s certainly not on the players’ radar at all.
“It’s not as if we’re going up and down the range talking to each other thinking about who the captain is going to be. We are all focussed on our own job of trying to start the season playing the best golf we can.”