Rory McIlroy hopes Travelers is 'perfect sort of chaser' to U.S. Open

Rory McIlroy will look to atone after a less-than-ideal weekend at the U.S. Open when he tees off Thursday at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn.

Sure, McIlroy closed strong with six birdies in Sunday's final round to finish in a tie for 19th place at the U.S. Open.

While that was enough to book an automatic spot on Europe's Ryder Cup team for this year's competition at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, N.Y., it didn't leave a good taste in his mouth.

After all, the golfer ranked No. 2 in the world had loftier expectations as he attempted to ride the momentum of wins this year at The Players Championship, Pebble Beach and The Masters.

With that said, McIlroy's frustrations were evident -- he smashed a tee marker to pieces, after all. The 36-year-old also refused to speak to the media during the first two days of competition before quipping on Saturday that "it's more a frustration with you guys," while later adding, "I feel like I've earned the right to do whatever I want to do."

McIlroy took a different tone on Wednesday.

"I think the weeks after major championships in these events sometimes when you're in contention and you're trying to win them, it can feel quite difficult to go play the next week," he said. "After a week like I had at Oakmont last week, where you're not quite in the mix but you might feel you find something in your game, you're excited to come back and play again.

"Yeah, looking forward to the week. This is the perfect sort of chaser for what Oakmont was last week, and nice to get out on a golf course where you feel you can make quite a few birdies."

The TPC River Highlands is a friendly course filled with opportunities for birdies and low scores, much to the pleasure of McIlroy.

"I think it is welcome, especially after -- look, the guys that played Memorial, that was a grind," he said. "Look, there's a lot of guys in the field this week where this is their fourth tournament in a row, so yeah, they've been put through the wringer the last few weeks, and this is a welcome setup where they feel like they can relax a little bit and not have to grind so much for your score."

The Travelers Championship, the final signature event of the season, is McIlroy's last PGA Tour event before he returns to Europe ahead of a big July.

McIlroy will be in the spotlight all week in his native Northern Ireland when the Open Championship is played at Royal Portrush.

--Field Level Media