Rory McIlroy should make an immediate change if he wants to have any chance of winning next month. Mastery.
At least that’s the view of English golfer Jamie Spence, who recently appeared on the Sky Sports Golf podcast to discuss the Northern Irishman.
McIlroy34, had another disappointing week on the PGA Tour after an up-and-down performance at the Players Championship.
The four-time major champion made plenty of birdies at TPC Sawgrass. The only problem was that he also dropped too many shots.
In the end, McIlroy had to settle for T-19, a result that sums up his 2024 season so far.
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Spence told the podcast: “He’s not there at the moment. He’s an up and down type player but his ups and downs…
“I just looked at his last five results – his best result is tied 19th. That’s not Rory.
“Because he won at the (Dubai Desert Classic), he then finished 66th at Pebble Beach, 24th at Genesis, 21st at Cognizant.
“He said himself in the interview: ‘It’s not like I’m playing terrible songs and I’m missing.’
“But there was no power in his voice, there was no conviction in what he was saying, for me.
“He knows he’s not on his game and he knows he’s having issues in his golf swing right now.”
McIlroy’s iron play has come under heavy criticism this year. In the past, this part of his game has been one of his greatest strengths.
In front of the players, McIlroy told reporters he felt an “incredible feeling” above his antlers.
“But when I try to recreate that feeling with the irons, it starts left and goes more left,” he said.
“I love that feeling of pulling my right arm across the target line.
“And I can do that really well with my woods, but when I try to do it with my irons, the clubface closes and goes left.”
Spence implored McIlroy to make a change before it was too late.
“I’m not his coach, he played in the same team, they made the same mistakes,” he said.
“It’s a sign of madness, isn’t it, to expect a different result from the same actions.
“You have to change something, he has to change something.
“He’s a very good player, but even on his streak he can finish fifth, 10th and maintain those results. He can still do it.
“But he’s always had his ups and downs and you just wait for Rory to get back on the surfboard and onto the wave.
“When he does that, he’s almost unbeatable. So I’m not worried about Rory.”
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He continued: “There’s no template. There’s no, ‘Oh, I can see Rory winning all the way.’
“It doesn’t work like that with him. All of a sudden he’s not on it, then he’s on it. So for me, it’s a change with him.”
McIlroy will play in a PGA Tour event before heading to Augusta National.
He will compete in the Valero Texas Open April 4-7 before heading to Georgia.
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