Rory McIlroy admitted he did feel a degree of ‘guilt’ after snatching Australian Open away from Adam Scott but insists he is now in a ‘better place’ going into his final tournament of the year.
Scott was looking to cap a remarkable year by winning the Australian triple crown, after already tasting victory at the PGA and Masters events. The Australian had led for the majority of the tournament at Royal Sydney but he made a couple of errors in the final round to allow McIlroy to pick up the victory with a birdie at the last hole.
The Northern Irishman has endured a torrid year on the course, and the win ensured he picked up his first title of the season, more than a year after his last, making up four shots over the final round to end his barren run.
McIlroy now heads to his final event of the season at the World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, and admits that the victory has helped turn his challenging year around.
“I’ve just felt in a better place, a better place mentally with some things off the course,” McIlroy said.
“It’s been a frustrating year because you know the level of golf that you can play and you’re just not able to play to that level.
“It’s obviously been made a lot better with the win. You know you have to go through the lows and I’m not saying it was a low this year. It’s not like I plummeted off the face of the earth.
“I’m still sixth in the world so it’s not too bad. It’s not the level that I feel like I can play to but I feel I’m getting back there, so it’s very pleasing.”
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