Race to Dubai 2015: Rory McIlroy keen to make a mark at the end of his ‘lost season’

Rory McIlroy has mental issues to address and a point to prove in Turkey this week. The former is with his streaky putting. The latter concerns being bumped to No 3 in the world by Australian Jason Day and American Jordan Spieth.

There is no debate that this golfing year has belonged to Spieth, who won the Masters, US Open and the money list on the PGA Tour. But McIlroy is determined to have the last word. He leads the European Tour’s lucrative Race to Dubai, and a victory here at the Turkish Airlines Open, with its £750,000 first prize, would go a long way to easing his mind and making up for what he calls his lost season following his injury while playing football in July.

“I’ve got three opportunities coming up to try and get a win or two on the board and end this year on a positive,” McIlroy said. The measure of whether this statement of intent will be translated into victory will rely heavily on his temperamental putter. While his driving remains imperious, McIlroy’s moves on the greens are, at times, like a tipsy dad at a wedding disco.

It is rare for sports stars to admit their weaknesses in public. Tiger Woods has spent his entire career stonewalling any criticism of his game. But McIlroy is honest and confident enough to address what is plain to see.

He admitted that the problem with his putting was more mental than technical. Every time he misses, there is a question, he said. “Did I pull it? Did I misread it? Did I whatever? So it’s more trying to free myself up, get out of my own way a little bit.

“And so I’ve worked on routine, just the mental approach of a putt, trying to simplify it,” he added. “I felt like sometimes I was making it a little more complicated than it has to be.”

All of which saw McIlroy heading straight to the practice putting green when he arrived at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course here on Tuesday. “I see really good signs on the putting green but it’s just trying to transfer that on to the golf course,” he said.

Asked to characterise what type of putter he is, McIlroy said: “Streaky. I’ll always be somewhat of a streaky putter. I feel like I hole out well. I definitely hole out much better than I used to do. And when I get my eye in, I’m really good. I do hole a lot of putts. But yeah, I don’t get my eye in as much as I’d like to.

“I know what the strengths of my game are, and it’s just about trying to make your weaknesses that little bit better each and every year.”

McIlroy knows that the old golfing adage of “drive for show, putt for dough” is nonsense. His driving statistics are what help keep the dough rolling in. “If you’re hitting 10 to 12 fairways a round, and 14 to 16 greens a round, you’re always going to give yourself plenty of chances,” he said.

“If you have a couple of good days where a few putts go in, that can suddenly be a couple of seven or eight-under rounds, and that’s really all you need.”

There is no doubting McIlroy’s belief that his strengths far outweigh his weaknesses. “The good thing for me is I can draw on some of the great performances and memories I have from winning big tournaments and knowing that if I’ve done that before, there is no reason why I can’t do that again,” he said.

“To win the Race to Dubai for a third time would be a great achievement and that’s what I’m trying to do.”