Rory McIlroy’s ex-coach shares ‘problem he’s had for a long time’ after miserable Open

Rory McIlroy endured a disappointing few days at Royal Troon.

Rory McIlroy’s former coach Pete Cowen has insisted that his ex-client’s main problem is that he is unable to deal with pressure – and has opened up on a technical issue McIlroy has when all eyes are on him.

Following last month’s agonising defeat at the US Open, McIlroy headed to Royal Troon in good form but his performance fell well below expectations. He finished 11-over after two rounds to distinguish any hopes he had of ending his drought at The Open.

The Northern Irishman has not won a major since 2014, and Cowen believes that the decade of disappointment is due to the pressure that McIlroy is under. He told Bunkered: “There’s a lot of pressure on Rory.

He did get the worst part of the draw but you did think he’d have been able to manage his game around there. If you hit some wild shots around there, you’re going to get penalised badly.

The longer the time span is between majors, the harder it gets. It’s like winning again, you’ve got to start again almost, reset. That’s the problem with him. They put so much pressure on him winning the Masters and the Grand Slam.

“That’s almost all he’s thinking about between now and next April which is sad really because the other tournaments deserve the great players to keep playing.” Cowen then went on to speak about how McIlroy displays the same technical “fault” continuously when the pressure takes its toll on him.