Rory McIlroy vindicated by Bay Hill win as he continues Masters build-up
The 28-year-old won his first title since 2016 at Bay Hill last weekend
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rory McIlroy believes Sunday's Arnold Palmer Invitational triumph provided vindication to his assertion that he was close to his best as the Northern Irishman hopes to carry that form to a maiden Masters victory at Augusta next month.
McIlroy entered last week's tournament in patchy form after missing the cut in two of his four PGA Tour starts this year but the 28-year-old produced a spectacular final round at the Bay Hill Golf Club to win a first title since 2016.
"I have even more optimism now," he said. "It was just more validation that what I've been doing has been correct. It all sort of just came together. I'm optimistic not just the next few weeks but the whole season. It's great to get a win early. I've got all that great stuff to fall back on, how I handled Sunday.
"I've always been able to turn negatives into positives... I went with the feeling that felt quite comfortable going into last week. And I'll hopefully continue to have that feeling for a while."
McIlroy said that winning was his main goal and dismissed the notion that silencing his critics gave him extra motivation.
"I don't care because people don't know the full story," he added. "They make comments and they speculate but they don't have the facts 100 percent so they never really know. It's all speculation."
McIlroy faces Peter Uihlein in his opening group contest at the WGC-Dell Match Play in Texas later on Wednesday, two weeks before the Masters tees off on April 5. A victory in Augusta would give the Briton a career grand slam of major titles.
The 2015 winner has been handed a favourable Group 6 draw that includes Americans Uihlein and Brian Harman, who will be making their tournament debuts, and Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas at the Austin Country Club.
Open champion Jordan Spieth, who is also competing at the Match Play event, believes four-time major champion McIlroy is the player to beat at any tournament provided the Northern Irishman can maintain his fitness.
"Whether he won last week or not, he's always a force," Spieth said. "He just needs to be healthy. And I think most of last season, it was a struggle for him...
"So just being rested, healthy and on the right path meant this year and going forward, Rory is Rory. And so he should always be a favourite at any event."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments