McGinley questions McIlroy’s ‘radical’ putting-grip switch

ONE thing you can be sure of when a player as high-profile as Rory McIlroy changes his putting method so close to the Masters is that everyone will have an opinion. Few are as qualified to pass one, however, as former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, who admits he is surprised the 26-year-old (below) has made a ‘radical’ change with the season’s first major looming. World No 3 McIlroy opted to switch to a left-below-right putting grip on the eve of the WGC-Cadillac Championship here at Doral, following a series of average putting performances. ‘It was very unlike Rory to buy into what everyone else was saying,’ said Sky Sports’ McGinley. ‘Is his putting really that bad? Two months ago he won the Dubai World Championship where his putting was fantastic and now here we are, after he’s played just a handful of tournaments this year, with him opting for a radical change.’ McGinley added he could see the frustration was getting to McIlroy. ‘You could read the book at the end of his first round, where he missed a couple of good birdie chances and then went after a really dangerous pin at his closing hole and ended up putting the ball in the water. That’s just pure frustration,’ he said. ‘You can see his focus is not really zoned in but let’s hope that by the time we get to the Masters we see it. Rory’s at his best when he’s cheesed off, with something to prove.’ He was certainly cheesed off after his first round on Thursday, after outplaying Jordan Spieth alongside him yet walking off with a score two shots worse, 71 to the American’s 69. McIlroy had a destructive 33 putts but, having made the change, has promised to stick with it and disputes any suggestion it is a radical switch. ‘I use it as a practice drill all the time so it doesn’t feel uncomfortable,’ he said. ‘I just decided to try it out in tournament play because it was feeling better in practice than my normal method.’