Rory McIlroy reveals his secret to avoiding mental effects of bad shots: "Visualize and focus"

While speaking with the media following his second round at The Players Championship, Rory McIlroy expressed how he's able to avoid the mental impact of hitting bad shots.

Following his four-under-par 68 on Friday, McIlroy is nine under par for the tournament and two shots behind the leaders in the clubhouse.

He responded to a question about if he has any tricks for forgetting bad shots on the golf course.

"Not really. I don't think there's a way to forget them. I mean, I guess just try to visualize and focus on what you want to do instead of thinking about what you don't want to do or what you've done before. So if you can make that thought just a little bit more powerful than the previous one, then that's sort of the secret," Rory McIlroy said.

McIlroy hasn't hit too many poor shots so far this week as he heads into the weekend with hopes of capturing his second Players Championship.

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Rory McIlroy says he aims to recapture world's top ranking, takes pride in not missing cuts

Rory McIlroy at THE PLAYERS Championship 2025 (via Getty)

Following his round, McIlroy also was asked by the media about his goal of being the top ranked golfer in the world and if that motivates him when he plays with Scottie Scheffler, who is ranked number one.

"Yeah, not really. I think all of us were just trying to put our heads down and put ourselves in position to go into the weekend. Look, I've always said I would much rather be a part of groups like that than not. It means you're doing something right. But, yeah, you can't -- Scottie and Xander are obviously great players and but you don't want to be looking too much at what they're doing. You just want to try to focus on yourself."

McIlroy is number two in the Official World Golf Ranking, narrowly ahead of Xander Schauffele but well behind Scheffler. Scheffler is at 574 points, while McIlroy is at 386 points.

McIlroy was also asked about where he ranks his ability to rarely miss cuts on his list of accomplishments.

"Yeah, I'm really proud of my consistency. I'm really proud of my body of work over the past 15, 16 years, whatever it is. I've always -- I think there's only been maybe one or two years in there where I haven't had a win since like 2009. But, yeah, I've always tried to show up and do my best. I am super proud of that because I think as time goes on it's getting a little more rare to see these sort of 15-, 20-year careers, and I'm thankfully on track, knock on wood, with no injuries and everything, to sort of have one of those. Yeah, I'm proud of that," Rory McIlroy said via ASAP Text.

Through two rounds, McIlroy is in a good position to contend this weekend. The 2019 Players Championship winner aims to win his second title at TPC Sawgrass.