DUBLIN, Ohio — Rory McIlroy is playing more golf than he planned going into his title defense at the U.S. Open.
    Just not on the right days.
    McIlroy lost his No. 1 ranking — and briefly lost his composure — by missing consecutive cuts at two big tournaments at The Players Championship and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, where frustrations boiled over to the point that he tossed a 6-iron after an errant shot.
    If nothing else, it was a wake-up call for McIlroy.
    "When you've went on a run when you've hardly finished outside the top five, and then all of a sudden two missed cuts, it's more of a shock than anything else," McIlroy said Wednesday. "Just a little bit surprising, and it's something I haven't really had to deal with in a while, and I just have to knuckle down and figure it out and get back to the way I was at the start of the year."
    He can only hope the Memorial is the start of another big run.
    Most of the game's best players are at Muirfield Village, a popular spot because Jack Nicklaus is the tournament host and a good location on the schedule with the U.S. Open at The Olympic Club only two weeks away.
    It's the strongest field of a regular PGA Tour event this year, featuring McIlroy, world No. 1 Luke Donald, defending champion Steve Stricker and Masters champion Bubba Watson, along with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.
    McIlroy added the St. Jude Classic next week as he tries to find a form that suddenly went missing.
    "I just feel like I need more rounds," he said. "These two-day weeks aren't really that good for me."
    He has lost his No. 1 ranking (again) to Donald. He has lost out on a chance to play on the weekend. He has not lost his perspective, his refreshing honesty and that self-deprecating humor.