“I’ll always keep coming back” – Rory McIlroy flaunts patience as he inches towards ending his nine-year major drought at the US Open 2023

Rory McIlroy sat T3 with Xander Schauffele at the end of the US Open 2023 Day 2.

The Northern Irishman seems to be in a strong position heading into the business end of the major. Needless to say, he has his eyes set on the title, which will end his nine-year-long major championship drought.

Heading into the weekend at the Los Angeles Country Club, Rory McIlroy has now exuded confidence in his game. The ace golfer opened up on major ambitions and said that no one wants him to win another major more than himself.

The PGA Tour star, who finished runner-up at the 2022 Masters, said that he’ll ‘always keep coming back’ despite the multiple falls he takes. Speaking to the media after his strong round 2 at the LACC, Rory McIlroy said:

“No one wants me to win another major more than I do. The desire is obviously there. I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years or whatever it is, and I keep coming back.

“I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back. And whether that means that I get rewarded or I get punched in the gut or whatever it is, I’ll always keep coming back.”

Eyes on the prize 👀

@McIlroyRory | @USOpenGolf https://t.co/ZEfmVtKYgr

It is pertinent to note that McIlroy has had mixed outcomes in the majors. The golfer finished runner-up at the 2022 Masters, only to then finish eighth at the PGA Championship. He ended up T-5 at the US Open last year and third at the British Open.

However, his worst outing came this year at the Masters where he missed the cut. McIlroy was in contention at the PGA Championship but finished T-7, letting rival Brooks Koepka take the win.

Rory McIlroy has his eyes set on the US Open 2023 title

Interestingly, Rory McIlroy was glued to YouTube coming into the US Open 2023. The golfer revealed that he was watching highlights from his victory in the 2014 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool. The Irishman seemingly took notes from his highlight reel at the event from nearly a decade ago.

Speaking on Friday after his second round of the US Open, McIlroy said:

“I actually couldn’t believe how many irons and 3-woods and stuff I was hitting off the tee. It set something off in my mind about, you know how to do this. You know how to play smart. You don’t have to hit driver all the time.

“Yes, it’s a big weapon, it’s a big advantage. But I keep saying I’ve got more weapons in my arsenal I feel now than I did back then, so I may as well use them and play to them.”

🚨🏆 Rory McIlroy is laser focused on winning major #5 this week: "No one wants me to win another major more than I do. The desire is obviously there. I've been trying & I've come close over the past nine years or whatever it is, and I keep coming back.” + "I feel like I've… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/ZITeMkDSdd

He added that patience is a virtue that was important for results at the major weekend.

“I’ve went through periods over the last few years where I haven’t been patient enough and I’ve taken on too much. But I think we’ve had some tests recently where you have to display patience, and hopefully those few experiences recently will help me this weekend.”

After 36 holes at the famed Los Angeles Country Club, McIlroy currently sits among the top three on the leaderboard. It’ll be interesting to see how the 34-year-old fares after getting a hot start to the US Open.