Rory McIlroy’s Ex-Coach Reveals Reason Behind Major Championship Struggles
Rory McIlroy’s Ex-Coach Reveals Reason Behind Major Championship Struggles
Rory McIlroy won four major titles between 2011 and 2014, the last coming at the 2014 PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club.
After failing to snap his decade-long major drought in 2024, 3,531 days will have passed since McIlroy’s last major victory when the Northern Irishman makes his way down Magnolia Lane for the 2025 Masters next April.
Golf fans have identified several potential reasons for McIlroy’s major championship struggles over the last few years, of which his caddie Harry Diamond, his putting, and mental game have been among the top few.
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On Wednesday, McIlroy’s former swing coach, Pete Cowen, suggested that he believes most of the four-time major champion’s problems reside between his ears.
“The longer the time span is between majors, the harder it gets,” Cowen recently told Ben Parsons of Bunkered.co.uk. “It’s like winning again, you’ve got to start again almost, reset. That’s the problem with him. They put so much pressure on him winning the Masters and the Grand Slam…
“These guys are so good so most of it is down to the mental side of the game. Expectations come into it.”
Cowen, Rory’s swing coach for several months back in 2021, ultimately believes McIlroy can win the Masters to secure the long-awaited Grand Slam.
Having worked around some of the best players in the world, however, Cowen seems to understand that can and will win are two different things.
“If I had to put money on it, I’d say yes, but golf’s a funny game,” Cowen said. “You get a good break and all of a sudden you could win two or three in a row like Xander, but it gets harder…
“It’s a smaller stage. As the stage gets higher, the more difficult and the more stage fright you get. You’ve got to look at it and say when the stage gets that high, like on a major because that’s the highest stage he can hit, sometimes you get a bit of stage fright. Everybody does.”
Jul 18, 2024; Ayrshire, SCT; Rory McIlroy reacts after hitting from the rough on the 15th hole during the first round of the Open Championship golf tournament at Royal Troon.
© Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports
With the 2024 major season now complete, McIlroy will shift his focus to representing Ireland in the upcoming Paris Olympics.
