Rory McIlroy believes TPC River Highlands could be “obsolete” in the modern game after a week of low scoring at the Travelers Championship.
McIlroy posted a final-round 64 in Connecticut to end the week in a share of seventh spot on 18 under, five strokes behind winner Keegan Bradley.
The par-70 layout produced eight rounds of 62 or lower during the latest of the PGA Tour's elevated event, with McIlroy admitting that soft conditions made for easier scoring conditions.
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"I don't particularly like when a tournament is like this," McIlroy said. "Unfortunately, technology has passed this course by, right? It sort of has made it obsolete, especially as soft as it has been with a little bit of rain that we had.
"Again, like the conversations going back to, you know, limiting the golf ball and stuff like that, when we come to courses like this they just don't present the challenge that they used to.
"You can grow the rough up and hope you get some firm conditions so it gets tricky. I think the blueprint for a really good golf course isn't growing the rough up and making the fairways tight. That bunches everyone together.
"The blueprint is something like Los Angeles Country Club, where you have wide targets, but if you miss it's penal. This isn't that sort of golf course. It's not that sort of layout. It doesn't have the land to do that.
"Unfortunately when you get soft conditions like this and you've got the best players in the world, this is what's going to happen."
How McIlroy impressed in Connecticut
McIlroy made a close-range birdie at the second and followed back-to-back gains from the fourth by two-putting from 30 feet to take advantage of the par-five sixth.
The world No 3 converted from six feet at the seventh to go five under for his round, although bogeyed the ninth after a wayward drive left him having to take a drop.
McIlroy slotted in a six-foot birdie at the 11th but missed an opportunity from a similar distance at the next, then picked up a shot at the par-five 13th before closing a blemish-free back nine with a run of five consecutive pars.
"I got off to a hot start, which was nice and what I felt like I needed," McIlroy said. "Then, yeah, hit a drive on nine that I didn't think was that bad. Ended up against the boundary fence and made a bogey there, which halted the momentum that I had.
"Bounced back well with a birdie on 11, but then missed a chance on 12. Birdied 13 and then just couldn't get anything to drop over those last few holes. I knew I was never going to win with the way Keegan [Bradley] was playing, but I felt like I probably needed a couple more birdies.
"It would've been nice to finish a little higher. Still, it's another good week and solid performance after a long run and looking forward it a couple weeks off."
McIlroy will next feature at the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club from July 13-16 - an event he skipped in 2022 - ahead of teeing it up at The 151st Open the following week.
The final major of the year takes place at Royal Liverpool for the first time since 2014, when he claimed a two-shot victory, with McIlroy hoping for a repeat performance as he looks to lift the Claret Jug for a second time.
The PGA Tour heads to Detroit next for the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 5pm on Sky Sports Golf.