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McIlroy spots what he's missing ahead of US Open

Rory McIlroy finished fifth at the Memorial Tournament © Getty Images

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Rory McIlroy gave himself a big confidence boost ahead of the US Open in two weeks' time, but he confessed he needs to mature as a player if he is to win a maiden major title.

McIlroy finished fifth at the Memorial Tournament after an extremely solid final round of 68, which saw him complete the course on 11-under. That left him five shots behind winner Steve Stricker in fifth place.

Significantly, the Northern Irishman putted superbly all week, averaging less than 27 putts per round. That bodes well for a player who completely capitulated on the final day of the Masters, throwing away a four-stroke advantage, but now he wants to add tactical maturity to his ever-improving game.

"It was a great way to finish the tournament," McIlroy said. "I played really good this week. I just made a few too many mistakes, which really cost me. We'll have to try and cut those out before the US Open in a couple of weeks' time. But there are definitely a lot of positives to take from how I've played this week.

"I putted the ball really good this week ... and that's a huge positive to take into the US Open. Everything is pretty good.

"If anything, I just need a little bit of strategy more than anything else. If you're going to miss shots, miss it in the right places. This week if you miss greens it's very penal here and you get punished quite easily.

"It's the same as the US Open. If you miss it in the wrong places there, you're looking at a five or a six. So it's just something I need to address a little bit."

McIlroy drops one place in the world rankings, behind Matt Kuchar, despite his fifth-place finish at the weekend. However, he moves ahead of compatriot Graeme McDowell, who falls three places to No. 8.

Stricker is now the leading American for the first time in his career at world No. 4.

World Rankings
1. Luke Donald (ENG), 2. Lee Westwood (ENG), 3. Martin Kaymer (GER), 4. Steve Stricker (USA), 5. Phil Mickelson, (USA), 6. Matt Kuchar (USA), 7. Rory McIlroy (NIR), 8. Graeme McDowell, (NIR), 9. Dustin Johnson (USA), 10. Paul Casey (ENG), 11. Charl Schwartzel (RSA), 12. Bubba Watson (USA), 13. Ian Poulter (ENG), 14. Nick Watney (USA), 15. Tiger Woods (USA), 16. KJ Choi (Kor) 17. Jim Furyk (USA), 18. Hunter Mahan (USA), 19. Jason Day (AUS), 20. Francesco Molinari (ITA)

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