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Brian Keogh
Wiping the slate is part of the joy of a New Year, and Rory McIlroy is no different than bidding for the first win of his career in the opening week of his career in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship .
When jumping in defense of pal Justin Thomas, who admitted it was « humiliating » and « embarrassing » to be fired by a sponsor for blurting a homophobic bow, McIlroy wants for the first time since Winning 14 months and positioning himself for a season in which he wants to end an almost seven-year drought in the majors.
« I will hardly go after the Christmas break, » said McIlroy, the incredible in the first event of the year since 2008 11 top 5 finishes but no wins – including eight out of ten appearances in Abu Dhabi. « I had a good training session and you are entering the new season with renewed optimism and lots of goals.
» I want to get started right away, play a lot, fight a lot and give myself the chance to win tournaments. [The WGC HSBC Champions in] China in 2019 was the last time I won, and it feels like a long time ago.
« I’m trying not to be impatient. I try to be as patient as possible but I’ll say the last win at this point feels like a long time ago. «
As for Tiger Woods, McIlroy expects him to recover quickly from a fifth back surgery.
» I’ve known for a while, « said McIlroy, who will play for seven of the next eight weeks to find Masters form. « He had it on December 23rd. In his words it was a small procedure.
» Of course every time you get cut into something try to avoid it as much as possible, but it was the next day back on his feet so I don’t think we can read too much into it.
« I think they were just trying to clean up a few little things. Of course he won’t be playing for the next few months, but he should be for them Masters will be back if not before, so I think he’s ‘I’m fine. «
When it comes to Thomas’ misfortune, he doesn’t condone what he said but clearly feels that the Number three in the world has been treated harshly. « He has a lot of integrity, » said McIlroy. « Obviously what he said doesn’t make it any better, but I think it’s difficult these days because it looks like you can’t make a mistake anymore. Any mistake is skipped. »
Thomas, der was thrown by sponsor Ralph Lauren last week hoping to make up for his error of judgment in Hawaii, where he missed a brief putt in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and blurted out a homophobic bow.
« I’m clearly not proud of that, what I said, « the 2017 PGA Champion admitted. « It’s humiliating. It’s embarrassing. It’s not me. It’s not a word I use, but for some reason it was in there. » Meanwhile, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood confirmed he dated it Will tee off July 1-4 at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet as part of his new strategy of playing two weeks before each major and then taking the following week off.
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