Rory McIlroy reveals the appeal of the Canadian Open: "I love playing in great atmospheres"

Rory McIlroy will play the RBC Canadian Open again this year. He fell short of a victory in this event last year as Robert MacIntyre continued his PGA Tour breakout in that event.

He has won it twice, including in his first-ever appearance. It's a tournament he loves playing in. After his TGL outing on Monday evening, he addressed the event and why he loves going back year after year.

The Northern Irishman said (4:10):

"I first played the Canadian Open in 2019. When I got there and played that week, obviously it helped that I won, but I went away kicking myself that I hadn't played it sooner... I love playing in great atmospheres. The Canadian Open is one of the best atmospheres of the year. The crowd and the fans really get into it... I love playing in front of crowds that are really enthusiastic and really into it."

McIlroy also said the Canadian Open is a great tournament to see where one's game is at. It will test golfers just a week before the US Open, so it's the perfect time to address any issues and get in a better space for the Major.

He shot 13 under par last year in the event after he was enshrined with a plaque. He finished tied for fourth and was three strokes back of MacIntyre.

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Rory McIlroy hails Tiger Woods after TGL duel

For the first time ever, Rory McIlroy played a TGL match last night. Also for the first time ever, the Northern Irishman was matched up against Tiger Woods, his co-founder for the entire league.

The match was as close as any has been yet on the TGL schedule and it went to overtime. Woods, Tom Kim and Kevin Kisner prevailed over McIlroy's Boston Common GC.

Rory McIlroy shouted out Tiger Woods after their match (Image via Imagn)

Afterwards, McIlroy said via ESPN:

"He stepped up and delivered like he usually does. It was a great match all night, back and forth, and exactly what the league needed."

Rory McIlroy also noted the audience that TGL has been able to attract:

"It's been really cool to hear that a younger demographic, it's sort of resonated with them. That's a really cool thing. One of the visions when we started was to try to engage that younger demographic and give them a bite-sized version of golf that they could get into and understand. And hopefully, we've done that."

A lot of talk surrounding golf, both on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, is about how to get the game to younger fans and more interest in the sporting world. TGL has apparently been successful in adding some youth to the demographic of golf fans.