Rory McIlroy is taking a lighter playing schedule this year, focusing on Major championships. He was spotted at Royal Birkdale for an early scouting trip ahead of The Open.

What happened?

McIlroy will continue his lighter playing schedule, not teeing it up in tournament golf again until the Scottish Open. He has been playing less but focusing more on the Majors.

Why it matters for Rory McIlroy

McIlroy's gameplan for the year has been to play less but focus more on the Majors, regularly skipping PGA Tour tournaments to take scouting trips to Augusta, Aronimink, and Shinnecock Hills.

McIlroy gave Sir Nick Faldo his Birkdale verdict and confirmed his pre-Open plans only include the Scottish Open. He decided to keep the same plan in place for the final Major.

What comes next?

The Scottish Open and Open Championship will take McIlroy to just 11 counting events towards the minimum of 15 the PGA Tour requires members to play in. McIlroy doesn't seem to be on track to make it to that number.

And he told Faldo that he decided to keep the same plan in place for the final Major, playing just the Scottish Open and playing some links golf ahead of The Open. McIlroy has recently moved back to the UK to a new home in Wentworth.

So McIlroy is missing the final Signature Event of the year at the Travelers Championship and instead is having a look around Royal Birkdale. He bumped into three-time Claret Jug winner Sir Nick Faldo while he was there.

McIlroy finished fourth behind Jordan Spieth at the Southport venue back in 2017, while his one Open victory came at nearby Royal Liverpool. He added to Faldo that he thought Royal Birkdale was one of the best courses on the Open rota.

I've always thought Birkdale is one of the best on the Open rota, so excited to be back, said McIlroy. It's good. A little bit different from 2017, the last time we played an Open here.

Some different green complexes, different holes, McIlroy added. McIlroy obviously successfully defended his Masters title at Augusta National after taking almost a month off following The Players and making several day trips down Magnolia Lane.

He's played just once in between the Majors since then to focus on preparation, and finished T7 at the PGA Championship and T32 at the US Open despite being close to a challenge. McIlroy has been spending time settling in at his new home in Wentworth.

And has obviously been playing golf in his new neighborhood judging by his Sunningdale polo short from the video. It remains to be seen how well that goes down at PGA Tour headquarters.

McIlroy doesn't seem to be on track to make it to the minimum number of events required by the PGA Tour. He's not set to play in the 3M Open, Rocket Classic, or Wyndham Championship before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin.

McIlroy will play the Scottish Open, which will be nice to get a few reps in, get a card in his hand, do all that, he said on a video posted to Faldo's social media channels. Try to play a bit of links golf, get used to these conditions again, McIlroy added.

It's good to get up here and play early, McIlroy said. I've been trying to do that at every major championship, which is working out for me. McIlroy is focusing on the Majors and taking a lighter playing schedule this year.

But could his schedule get him in hot water with the PGA Tour? McIlroy is taking a risk by skipping PGA Tour tournaments to focus on the Majors. Only time will tell if his strategy pays off.

The Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf, and McIlroy is determined to win it. He has been preparing meticulously, scouting out the course and practicing his links golf.

McIlroy's dedication to his craft is admirable, and his fans will be eagerly watching his progress at The Open. Will he emerge victorious, or will his strategy backfire?