Rory McIlroy says he is starting to see the benefits of the work he has put into revitalising his game as he prepares to make his first Irish Open appearance since 2018.

The County Down native will compete this week at Mount Juliet before the Scottish Open and the Open Championship in consecutive weeks.

“Everything that I’ve been working on has started to bed in and the game feels good,” McIlroy said.

“I’m very encouraged by how I played all week [at the US Open], the 67 I shot on Saturday was one of my best ball-striking rounds in a long time.”

McIlroy will form part of a strong field this week in Kilkenny with major winners Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell all competing at their home event.

Both McDowell and McIlroy missed last year’s rescheduled competition at Galgorm, while the latter also opted out of the 2019 tournament at Lahinch.

“It’s felt like a long time, it has been a long time,” said McIlroy, who tees off on Thursday at 13:00 BST.

“Ballyliffin [in 2018] seems like a lifetime ago so I’m looking forward to this week.”

The four-time major winner has travelled alone from his home in Florida, with his wife and daughter staying in the United States due to travel complications caused by the pandemic.

He is now facing an extended spell on the road, with his debut Olympic appearance following The Open.

“Up until about a week ago they were going to come with me. The plan was to play here, take the week off afterwards and then play The Open but with how everything panned out with isolation and quarantine it wasn’t just fair to put them through that,” he said.

“This is going to be five of the next six weeks on the road without seeing them so I just made sure last week to spend as much time with them as possible, which meant I didn’t see my golf clubs very much.”

Limited spectator numbers understandable

Having enjoyed sizeable crowds at courses in the US for some time, McIlroy is set for a different experience this week with only a limited number of spectators permitted at Mount Juliet.

The Northern Irishman has been buoyed by the return of crowds, crediting them with a major role in his win at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

“This country is taking a different approach to Covid than other places, especially in the States where things are really starting to open up,” he said.

“The more crowds the better for me, I’ve always said I love playing in front of them and I wish there were more but I understand why there’s not.”

McIlroy will represent Ireland at this summer’s Tokyo Olympics alongside Lowry, having pulled out of the 2016 Games due to concerns over the Zika virus.

Having been double vaccinated against Covid-19, the 32-year-old says his fears have been allayed as he prepares to make his Olympic bow.

“The attitude where I live now is very different to what it is here. I feel like we’ve been living in relative freedom for quite a few months at this point,” he said.

“I’ve no concerns, I’m going to go over there and abide by whatever rules they set us, and try to make the most of it.”