Rory McIlroy performs morbid U-turn ahead of The Open

Rory McIlroy has made a morbid admission ahead of The Open after insisting he does not care how he will be remembered once his career is over.

The Northern Irishman, who arrives at Royal Birkdale among the favourites for the year's final major, was asked how he hopes future generations will view him after one of golf's greatest careers.

McIlroy's response was, however, typically blunt.

The six-time major winner admitted the only opinions that matter are those of the people closest to him because, as he put it, he will eventually be 'six feet under'.

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"I don't really care," McIlroy said.

"I would like to think that the people that love and care about me think a certain way of me, but I'll be long gone.

"I'll be dead. I don't think I'll be seeing what people say about me. I'll be six feet under. I don't think I'll be a ghost. Yeah, I don't care."

The comments were striking given McIlroy has previously spoken about his desire to leave a lasting legacy in golf.

For now, though, his focus is entirely on adding a second Open Championship to his CV and claiming a seventh major title.

The world No 2 also used his pre-tournament press conference to call for golf's major calendar to be spread across a longer period, arguing the current schedule is over too quickly.

"This major season always feels like it goes quicker and quicker every year," he said.

"I'd like to see it spread out a little bit longer. It just seems like it's very, very quick.

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"From a player perspective, if you get on a bit of a run, it's nice to be sort of playing well and go from one straight into the next.

"But for the sport as a whole and for the general interest in the game, obviously I can see the positives in that major season being stretched out a little bit longer.

"There's a lot of different constituents in the game, a lot of different governing bodies and opinions, and my opinion isn't going to change anything.

"I feel like I would certainly voice it, but I don't think it's going to really change anything."

McIlroy heads into Royal Birkdale hoping to rediscover the form that saw him finally complete the career Grand Slam at Augusta earlier this year.

His performances since that historic Masters victory have been solid rather than spectacular, recording finishes of 19th, seventh, 12th, 32nd and seventh in his five tournaments since slipping into the Green Jacket.

The 37-year-old also endured a frustrating finish to last week's Genesis Scottish Open, where he was heard shouting: "Oh my god, I'm so bad at golf" after pulling an errant approach shot.

Despite those frustrations, McIlroy believes he has made significant progress with his swing over the past few days and is optimistic about his chances this week.

"It depends what hour of the day you get me," he said.

"It's funny, I felt really good the first two days in Scotland and then felt like my game just sort of deteriorated as the week went on.

"But I've done a good bit of work the past couple days.

"It's definitely trending in the right direction."

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