BEACH BAWL FOR McILROY
Flop Rory told to relax
RORY McILROY has been told to hit the beach to clear his head after his latest bid to complete his career Grand Slam at The Masters ended on the rocks.
The world No.12 missed the cut in Augusta – for the first time since 2010 – following rounds of 76 and 74.
And the Ulsterman marked the unhappy 10th anniversary of his
2011 Masters meltdown – where he took a triple bogey on the 10th in the final round – by shanking his approach shot into bushes on the same hole on Friday to take a double bogey six.
Struggling McIlroy had struck his father Gerry with a wayward shot during his highest-ever Masters opening round.
His new coach Pete Cowen had warned not to “expect miracles” in only their second event working together – and he was proved right.
The four-time Major champion is next scheduled to play the Wells Fargo Championship starting on May 6 before the US PGA on May
20. His last Major win came in that event back in August 2014.
And his ex-Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley (above, right) said: “I think the best thing for Rory is probably a few weeks in the sunshine, on a beach somewhere, to clear his head and come back at it again.
“Sometimes the harder you try this game the worse it gets – no matter how talented you are.”
McIlroy, 31, admitted he lost his swing last year trying to chase the distance of bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau.
And Butch Harmon questioned the timing of employing Cowen on the eve of the Masters.
“Bad shots are part of the process when you change your swing,” said the Sky Sports golf expert (far left).
“It works on the range, it works in practice but that doesn’t mean anything. It’s always going to be tough and to make the change right before coming into a Major – was that the right thing to do? I don’t know.
“He picked the right guy – Pete Cowen knows what he is doing, that’s for sure. He’s had success with everybody he’s ever touched.”
McIlroy admitted the rolling Augusta National course was a bad place to put his swing changes in action. He said: “Once you get on the golf course and you get these different lies and different shots and different winds, that’s the litmus test right there, and it still didn’t feel quite 100 per cent.”
Dustin Johnson missing the cut was a bigger shock – and the defending champion has to stay in Augusta to put the Green Jacket on the back of this year’s champion.
The world No.1 bogeyed three of his final four holes in his second round 75 and missed the cut by two shots.
Lee Westwood also finished on five-over par to end his run of 12 consecutive cuts at the Masters.