McIlroy feeling the Bryson burn
RORY McILROY believes his current swing problems are down to the Bryson effect, and trying to keep up with the prodigious exploits of the man changing the face of the sport.
The Northern Irishman made the confession after the defence of his Players Championship title drew to an ignominious conclusion at Sawgrass on Friday, when he missed the halfway cut by no fewer than 10 shots following dismal rounds of 79 and 75.
McIlroy pointed to a costly decision to look for more swing speed in the wake of Bryson DeChambeau’s US Open victory by six shots last September, when the American pummelled Winged Foot into submission.
‘I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t anything to do with what Bryson did to win that major,’ he said. ‘I think a lot of us were thinking, if this is the way they’re going to set golf courses up in the future, it helps. It really helps.
‘I had a few weeks off after that and I started to try to hit the ball a bit harder.
‘I hit a lot of drivers to get more speed and I think that was the infancy of where these swing problems have come from. So now it’s a matter of trying to get back out of it.’
As a result of going down his destructive path, McIlroy is now outside the top 10 in the world for the first time in three years.
The 31-year-old acknowledged ‘it will take a bit of time’ to get out of his bad habits, though time is not something he has in abundance with the Masters and another tilt at the career Grand Slam less than four weeks away.
The only competitive golf on his schedule before the season’s first major is the WGC-Match Play in Austin in 10 days.
Mind you, tournament golf is probably not something he needs following an exhausting run of seven events in eight weeks that appeared to catch up with him at the Players Championship.
‘It was certainly ambitious, especially starting out in Abu Dhabi and then flying to the West Coast of America the following week,’ he said.
‘Now I’ve got some time on my own to work on some stuff to get ready for the Masters.’
McIlroy, it should be said, played some decent golf during that busy stretch, with five top-16 finishes. His growing irritation stemmed from his failure to capitalise on perfect starts in three of those events, and he sounded thoroughly cheesed off after a disappointing final-round 76 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last Sunday.
At least on Friday he sounded like a man with a plan again. He was bullish when asked whether he had any desire to play and practise following his Sawgrass humiliation. ‘Actually, I want to get on the range right away and try to get through this,’ he said. ‘I’m pretty determined to get back to where I know I can be.’
As McIlroy headed home, Lee Westwood maintained his lead at Sawgrass but faces another Sunday battle with DeChambeau.
Westwood finished runner-up to DeChambeau at the Arnold Palmer and holds a two-shot lead over him after three rounds this time. Westwood didn’t drop a shot in a four-under-par round of 68 to move to 13 under. DeChambeau carded a 67 to reach 11 under.
Justin Thomas sits on 10 under par, tied with fellow American Doug Ghim, while Paul Casey is the second Englishman on the leaderboard a further shot back after a second consecutive 67.
Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Brian Harman also sit on nine under.