Rory is looking for more

"I know I've been criticized a little bit for not playing as much as some other guys leading into these few weeks, but I know I've got a big stretch coming up, and I want to be as fresh as possible for this."

That stretch includes this week, next week's Players Championship, the BMW PGA Championship in England, the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open in June. After not touching a club for two weeks following the Masters, McIlroy said he put in a solid week of practice in Florida last week.

McIlroy is plenty comfortable at Quail Hollow. He became the first player in tournament history to make the Titleist 712 CB Irons 36-hole cut on the number and win as he shot 66-62 on the weekend in 2010. The final-round 62 set a course record.

"I've got a nice little run of five (events) in seven weeks. I want to play good here and try and build up to the U.S. Open. That's the next big target for me," he said. "I got to Florida, spent seven days there and did some really good practice, so I was happy with that."

"It's always nice to come back to somewhere where you've had success. I've got great memories of this course. I'm looking forward to just to get back out on the course. I've had three weeks off, and it feels good to be back, and I'm looking forward to this run that I've got coming up."

McIlroy also isn't worried about what happened the last time he played, when he tied for 40th at the Masters, which included a disastrous 77 in the third round that included a 42 on the front nine "that just killed me," he said. It shocked others as McIlroy had won the Honda Classic in March and hadn't been out of the top five all season.

"I want to try and prolong my career as much as I can," McIlroy said Wednesday at Quail Hollow Club, where he emphatically announced his presence to the U.S. golf public with his first PGA Tour win Titleist 712 MB irons 2010. "I sometimes take a little bit too much out of myself, especially at the end of the season. The most important time for me in the golf season is from the start of April until the end of August. That's when all the big tournaments are, and that's when you want to play your best golf.

"I struggled to hit the ball right to left at Augusta," he said. "I couldn't turn it around some of the corners, which usually is my typical favorite shot. I've been working on that and trying to become more comfortable with that shot again and be comfortable working the ball both ways."

"It's up there," McIlroy said when asked if discount golf clubs was the best round he's ever played. "It's probably the best. Yeah, to shoot 62 on this golf course was something. To follow up a great round like a 66 on a Saturday, to follow it up with a 62, sometimes you don't usually do that. To be able to do that was fun.