Rory McIlroy has received tips from Tiger Woods to fix the dreaded “two-way miss” that could wreck his US PGA Championship challenge, but the world No 3’s former coach has suggested it could take “a couple of months” to solve the driving issue .
Pete Cowen, the lauded swing guru, was charged with repairing the Northern Irishman’s renowned rhythmic motion the last time he suffered one of professional golf’s worst nightmares two years ago. With long-term coach Michael Bannon unable to travel during the pandemic, McIlroy took on the Yorkshireman full-time in March 2021, but still missed the cut at the next month’s Masters. He eventually won in May of that year.
“What you do with players is explain what they do when they play well and what their tendencies are,” Cowen told Telegraph Sport here at Oak Hill. “And as I’ve known him since he was 13 [when Cowen was a consultant for the Irish golf team] I knew his patterns, so he just had to get back to his best one. Yes, it took a couple of months to sort, but the two-way miss might not be as bad this time and with someone as talented as Rory it could quickly click again.”
In his pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy explained the issue. “The club gets a little bit out of position at the top and then the sequence of events that follow from there,” he said. “The club face gets too open on the way back, I really struggle to square it on the way down, and then the sort of re-closure gets a little too fast, throwing my hands at it, and I started to get the miss going both ways, especially at Quail Hollow.”
McIlroy finished tied 47th at the Wells Fargo Championship – an event he has won three times previously – after scraping inside the cut. The Golf Channel reported that Woods, watching the coverage, texted McIlroy – his friend and neighbor – after noticing something in his swing. And with Bannon traveling over from Co Down to Florida last week, McIlroy claims it won’t be a problem, despite this being a tight layout featuring thick rough.
“I know what the feelings are to try to get it back on a good path and it’s better than it was,” McIlroy said. “Look, it’s timing and fractions of a second between the ball going 20 yards right or 20 yards left, but I would expect this week not to have to deal with it so much. If I can execute the way that I feel like I can, then I still believe that I’m one of the best players in the world and can have a chance of winning this week. I think I’m close.”
As if that was all McIlroy had to contend with in the season’s second major. As well as the technical gremlins, there are mental demons. As ever in the 34-year-old’s campaign to complete the career grand slam, the ghouls gathered momentum at Augusta last month, where McIlroy missed the cut by five shots. He revealed here on Tuesday that nobody was as shocked as himself.
“I have never been so sure that I was going to have a great week at Augusta – never so sure,” he said. “I shot five under on the back nine on Wednesday afternoon and everything was in a good spot. I had a chat with [his sports psychologist, Dr Bob] Rotella that night and said ‘I feel so good. Like how can I not get ahead of myself?’ And then, that happens. It was a great lesson for me not to put too much into feelings or vibes.
“But that’s golf. Golf can be an impostor and can bring you back down to earth pretty quickly. I think the best way to deal with that is not to let yourself get to that level of expectation so early. Just take what the golf course gives me and have a little more acceptance.
“If I work on that, and I do the right things, I know I’ll start to play really good golf again pretty quickly… it wasn’t really the performance at Augusta that’s hard to get over, it’s more the mental aspect and the deflation of it and trying to get your mind in the right place to start going forward again.”
McIlroy was due to play the week straight after Augusta, but scratched on Monday, a withdrawal that, under PGA Tour regulations, might still cost him $3 million of the $12 million he is due for finishing second in the Players Impact Program.
McIlroy revealed that he skipped Hilton Head to ensure “my emotional and mental well-being” and also acknowledged that acting as the Tour’s unofficial spokesperson against the Saudi-funded LIV Golf League had taken its toll.
Yet he is adamant LIV will no longer be a distraction. When asked if he intends to sidestep the subject whenever it is raised in press conferences, he replied: “Yes.” Later he expanded on his decision to remain tight-lipped on the ever-escalating controversy.
“I would rather people be talking about me for my golf rather than what I’ve said. I don’t regret anything I’ve done because I think what has been done is helpful… but now that the wheels have been set in motion, it is time to focus on me and playing great golf and trying to get back to winning ways .”
Surely the draw has assisted him in this regard. While world No2 Scottie Scheffler will play with Brooks Koepka, the LIV golfer who finished second at the Masters, McIlroy has been grouped with Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month, then enjoy 1 year for just $9 with our US-exclusive offer.