McIlroy "Lost by 6 Holes"... "In Slump Mode?"

'The 5th Major' The Players 'Cut Off' Followed by a Complete Defeat to Polter on the First Day of Dell Technologies Match Play Qualifiers

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "A crushing 6-hole defeat."

The performance of world No. 11 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland, photo) is showing signs of trouble. On the 25th (Korean time), at the Austin Golf Club in Texas, USA (par 71, 7,108 yards), during the first day of the World Golf Championships (WGC) Series Dell Technologies Match Play (total prize money $10.5 million), he suffered the humiliation of losing by 6 holes to Ian Poulter (England). Poulter, moreover, had no initial entry but barely secured a last-minute ticket due to a withdrawal among the 'top 64' players.

McIlroy recorded 2 birdies and 4 bogeys. Interestingly, among the 8 holes Poulter won, half of them?4 holes?were lost because McIlroy failed to make par. The 4th hole (par 3) was especially notable, where McIlroy made a 3-putt bogey from just 4.3 meters. On the 5th hole (par 4), his tee shot curved sharply left and landed in a residential swimming pool beside the course. This contrasts with Poulter’s '2-on 1-putt' eagle on the 12th hole (par 5) and his '4-on 1-putt' par. The match ended early with a bogey on the 13th hole (par 4).

It is important to note that McIlroy has been frustrated by a lack of victories since the WGC Series HSBC Champions in November 2019. Right after missing the cut at The Players Championship, known as the 'fifth major,' on the 14th, he confessed, "Since last October, I have been trying to increase my driving distance by adopting a low-ball swing and increasing torso rotation," adding, "I tried to imitate DeChambeau, but my shots deteriorated." He explained, "I will return to my old swing."

McIlroy urgently needs to regain his shot feel before the Masters early next month. The Masters is the final puzzle to becoming the sixth 'career Grand Slam' winner in global golf history. He has sequentially collected three major trophies: the 2011 US Open, the 2012 PGA Championship, and the 2014 Open Championship in July. However, at the Masters, he has only managed to finish tied for 4th in 2015, tied for 10th in 2016, tied for 7th in 2017, tied for 5th in 2018, tied for 21st in 2019, and tied for 5th in 2020.

This is why McIlroy recently hastened to hire Pete Cowen (England) as his new swing coach and began swing corrections. This is notable since he has never had any coach other than Michael Bannon (Northern Ireland), whom he met at age 8. Cowen has coached Lee Westwood (England), Graeme McDowell (Northern Ireland), Sergio Garcia (Spain), and currently serves as coach to Brooks Koepka (USA) and Henrik Stenson (Sweden).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.