“I don’t really care,” he 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 don’t think I’ll be seeing what people say about me. I’ll be six feet under.
“It would be a pretty unfulfilling pursuit if you’re just chasing records and chasing results.
“You have to enjoy the process. You have to enjoy the journey to get there. I’ve learned that the hard way at times by chasing results and chasing records too much.”
McIlroy has also learned to embrace the goodwill that comes his way every time he steps on to the course at The Open.
Twelve months ago, he had the weight of a nation on his shoulders. He may not have landed the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush but he dealt with the expectation of a home crowd in a much more composed manner than 2019. The roars that greeted his 56-foot putt for eagle on the 12th in his third round have only just died down.
The ‘local hero’ tag falls on Tommy Fleetwood this time around but McIlroy feels his Ryder Cup teammate is well equipped to handle the pressure.
“It’s a great environment but tough in a way that you just feel the extra expectation on your shoulders, and you feel like you’re trying to play well for everyone else and not for yourself,” he said.
“There is already enough pressure on anyone in this field to play well for themselves, so to add that extra layer on top of that is always pretty difficult.
“I feel like Tommy’s more level-headed than I am and maybe won’t fall into that trap like I did in 2019. It always seems like it takes me one go round to get it right.
“It will be interesting to see. I’m playing with Matt (Fitzpatrick) tomorrow, but I think a lot of those guys are pretty level-headed, and they’ll go out there and stick to their routines and do their thing.
“It would be great for them all to have a great week because obviously with England in the World Cup and everything that’s going on, it would just be an amazing atmosphere.”