Rory McIlroy rates Kingston Heath over Royal Melbourne as the best golf course in Melbourne

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rory McIlroy might not have endeared himself to the Royal Melbourne Golf Club membership on Wednesday when he gave his impression of the famed sandbelt course — he says it’s not the best in Melbourne.

McIlroy will tee off in the opening round of the Australian Open on Thursday with Adam Scott, whom he beat for the title in 2013, and another Australian drawcard Min Woo Lee.

But McIlroy, who played five holes at five different Melbourne courses on Monday, wasn’t overly enthusiastic about Royal Melbourne, rating nearby Kingston Heath above it.

Royal Melbourne has hosted the Presidents Cup three times but Kingston Heath will be the venue in 2028 for the International vs. the United States team event. And Kingston Heath will also host the Australian Open next year, which McIlroy has already committed to play.

“I don’t want the membership to take this badly but it’s probably not the best course in Melbourne,” said McIlroy, who won the Masters this year to become just the sixth man to achieve the career grand slam.

He did at least add that he considered the course among the top 10 in the world and said it possibly played “funky” on Wednesday due to the northerly wind.

“I didn’t anticipate how many blind tee shots there was going to be, and it takes a little bit to figure out. It’s certainly not straightforward. I think as well, it probably plays better in the southerly wind rather than a northerly wind … it’s probably not a fair reflection on the golf course playing it in this wind.”

He also added his approval of the Australian Open returning to a stand-alone format, breaking ties with the Women’s Australian Open which had been held concurrently with the men’s event the past three years.

“This tournament in particular because of the history, because of the tradition, deserves to be a standalone tournament, a week on its own,” McIlroy said.

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