July 27, 2019: Rory McIlroy arrives at the WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational buoyed by the support of his home country, after experiencing an outpouring of love as he narrowly missed the cut at The Open last week.
An emotional McIlroy was visibly overwhelmed by the support he received on Friday after battling back from a disappointing opening round at Royal Portrush, as his friend Shane Lowry went on to lift the Claret Jug. The Northern Irishman is feeling positive about the lessons learned as he aims for a third World Golf Championships title when he tees it up at the final WGC event of the season at TPC Southwind in Memphis.
The statistics are on McIlroy’s side this week – not only has he won his event before, in its previous guise in Akron, Ohio, back in 2014, but on three of the last four occasions he has missed a cut he has finished first or second the following week.
His Ryder Cup team mate and fellow former World Number One Justin Rose is also aiming for a third WGC title this week after claiming the WGC-HSBC Champions two years ago and the WGC-Cadillac Championship in 2012, as he worked towards his maiden Major title at the U.S. Open the following year.
They will face stiff competition from World Number Two Dustin Johnson, who is the de facto defending champion this week, after winning the last event to be played at TPC Southwind last season to add to the first title that he won at this course in 2012.
He is delighted to see the city of Memphis – and a course he loves – host a WGC for the first time, while the event continues to give back to the community by supporting the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
European Tour Release
