Rory McIlroy has said he will ‘pick and choose’ the events he plays in each year to retain balance in his life.

The world number two arrives at Muirfield Village looking to win Jack Nicklaus’ prestigious Memorial Tournament for the first time in his career, with this year’s event holding a huge $20m prize purse, $4m of which goes to the winner. 

Speaking ahead of the tournament, where he is making his first appearance since the PGA Championship, the Masters champion confirmed he will continue to structure his schedule around family life and to prepare as best he can for the major championships, joking that he feels like a ‘part-timer’ these days. 

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Rory McIlroy during a practice round before the Memorial Tournament. Pic: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images

‘I’ve been doing this a long time,’ McIlroy said. ‘I’ve been on tour more than half of my life at this point, so I’ll pick and choose my spots as I have been doing over the last 18 months to two years. 

‘Does it mean it makes it harder for me to win the FedEx Cup or whatever the season-long title race is going to be called? Absolutely. But I’m okay with that because it brings balance to my life and lets me enjoy things outside of the game.’

The Northern Irishman admitted that the Memorial, along with the Tiger Woods-fronted Genesis Invitational, are two of the tournaments he is desperate to add to his decorated CV.

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Rory McIlroy during a practice round before this year’s Masters. Pic: Leckie Wong/Augusta National/Getty Images

‘I would say here and Tiger’s event at Riviera, they’re the two that I would love to win,’ Rory McIlroy said, whose best finish in 13 appearances at Muirfield Village was tied fourth in 2016.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to win at Bay Hill, but not while Arnold [Palmer] was alive. So, I always thought it would be cool to win here and take that little walk up the hill off the 18th green and shake Jack’s hand.’