Rory McIlroy on eve of The Open: "I feel like I deserve something"

Rory McIlroy has admitted he's getting to the stage where he feels like he deserves to win a major championship. 

McIlroy made the comment in an interview with the Guardian's Ewan Murray ahead of the 152nd Open Championship. 

It is 10 years to the day that McIlroy claimed his last major victory. 

The Ulsterman came agonisingly close to breaking his streak at last month's U.S. Open. 

Observers thought that it was the toughest defeat to date in his 17-year career. 

But McIlroy insisted that he got over the disappointment quickly, insisting his haunting Masters meltdown in 2011 and losing to Cameron Smith at the 2022 Open Championship at the home of golf were far worse. 

"I have always said I don't deserve anything from golf but after St Andrews, LA Country Club [2023 US Open] and Pinehurst I am finally getting to the point where I feel like I deserve something," he told the paper. 

"That doesn't mean to say I'll get it. I always felt if you say you deserve something, it reeks of entitlement. 

"Nobody is entitled to anything in this game or life in general. 

"You have to earn everything. But I feel like I am in a great position to go and earn it."

McIlroy is scheduled to speak to reporters at 2pm BST on Tuesday ahead of The Open. 

He arrived at Royal Troon in good spirits after returning to the game following a three-week break at the Scottish Open. 

During his outing at The Renaissance Club, where he finished four behind Robert MacIntyre, McIlroy told reporters that he's never really enjoyed his success. 

He insisted that going forwards he wants to free himself from the shackles of the profession and enjoy the game more. 

Just how will he do that?

"At this point I would rather lose through trying to win it than lose it through trying not to lose," he said. 

"I haven't been as assertive over the past couple of years in the biggest tournaments."

Time will tell how this new approach will work. 

The 152nd Open Championship gets underway on Thursday. 

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