GOLF: Rory McIlroy teams up with star coach to fix swing problems
Last updated 24th Mar 2021
Rory McIlroy has turned to renowned swing coach Pete Cowen in a bid to rediscover his old form.
Having slipped to 11th in the world rankings, the Holywood superstar felt he needed to change aspects of his game, particularly, too, with the Masters coming up.
McIlroy has previously sought Cowen's input on an informal basis, including at the Players Championship earlier this month, but only when long-time coach Michael Bannon has not been at a tournament.
Bannon will, however, continue to be part of the team.
McIlroy has been struggling with his swing since developing flaws during "speed training" sessions last autumn, a move prompted by the manner of Bryson DeChambeau's dominant six-shot victory at the US Open in September.
Cowen, who has coached a number of major champions and now has Brooks Koepka under his guidance, was seen working with McIlroy on the practice range at The Players Championship earlier this month.
McIlroy missed the cut in defence of his Players Championship title after rounds of 79 and 75 at TPC Sawgrass and admitted that his swing had suffered due to an attempt to add more length to his game, partly influenced by Bryson DeChambeau's dominant US Open triumph.
"I think a lot of people did,'' McIlroy said. "I'd be lying if I said it wasn't anything to do with what Bryson did at the US Open.
"I think a lot of people saw that and were like, 'whoa, if this is the way they're going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps'. It really helps.
"The one thing that people don't appreciate is how good Bryson is out of the rough. Not only because of how upright he is, but because his short irons are longer than standard, so he can get a little more speed through the rough than us other guys.
"And I thought being able to get some more speed is a good thing, and maybe just to the detriment a little bit of my swing, I got there, but I just need to maybe rein it back in a little bit.''
McIlroy was top of the world rankings when golf shut down last year due to the coronavirus pandemic but has slipped to 11th ahead of this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in Texas.
The 31-year-old's most recent victory came in November 2019 and the last of his four major titles was in the 2014 US PGA Championship.