Rory McIlroy's ex-coach makes plea to golf fans as he shares the golfer’s pressure problem: "That’s almost all he’s thinking about"

After a heartbreaking loss at the 2024 US Open, Rory McIlroy sought to end his decade-long drought without a Major Championship victory at the Open Championship. However, the PGA Tour star missed the cut at the 2024 Open Championship last week by five strokes to extend the drought by another year.

Having won his last Major Championship in 2014 at the Open Championship and the PGA Championship, McIlroy has come incredibly close over the years to adding another victory to his name. Since his last victory, the Irishman has ten top-five finishes in Majors.

In an exclusive interview with Bunkered, McIlroy's former coach Pete Cowan revealed that winning the Masters next year in April is all that McIlroy has on his mind. Cowan also spoke about the reason behind the PGA Tour star's slump:

"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. There’s a lot of pressure on Rory. 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."

Rory McIlroy missed his final putt on the 72nd hole of the US Open to concede the title to Bryson DeChambeau. Not only did the Irishman face a lot of criticism on social media for the missed putt, but his caddie and close friend Harry Diamond faced a lot of backlash as well.

Here's what McIlroy's ex-coach had to say about the situation at the US Open:

"Normally he doesn’t miss those things and no one could believe it. The 18th was a very very difficult putt. People don’t realize how difficult that was. Anybody could have done that unfortunately. But difficult to watch when you see something like that. To be fair he played the best golf on that Sunday, but the best golf doesn’t always win. Harry is a great lad and a good caddie. The responsibility comes down to the player all the time. It has to be, and the player has to take responsibility. That’s what it is really."

Rory McIlroy's past Open Championship records explored

Rory McIlroy has made 15 appearances at the Open Championship throughout his illustrious career. Having made the cut in 12 editions, the Irishman has only won the tournament once and has recorded six top-five finishes.

Here's a look into McIlroy's past finishes at the Open Championship:

2007 - T42 [Low Amateur Honours]
2008 - Did not play
2009 - T47
2010 - T3
2011 - T25
2012 - T60
2013 - CUT
2014 - First place
2015 - Did not play
2016 - T5
2017 - T4
2018 T2
2019 - CUT
2020 - No tournament held due to COVID-19
2021 - T46
2022- 3rd place
2023 - T6
2024 - CUT

About the author

Lathika is one of the newer additions to Sportskeeda’s budding golf journalism team and has brought plenty of in-game experience to the role. Having been a golfer for over 12 years now, some of her crowning achievements include winning titles on the Indian Golf Union Ladies tour and Junior Girls Amateur tour.

She currently competes in Division 1 golf in New York, and hopes to play in the U.S. Open and Chevron Championship one day. She is set to cover the 2025 Ryder Cup as well. She is currently pursuing a degree in Business Administration and Management, and holds a Sports Marketing certification from Northwestern University, which helped her learn to draft press releases and ultimately transition into journalism.

Lathika has thus developed a knowledge base that allows her to view golf from both player, spectator and media lenses, enabling her to bring statistics, insights and an understanding of fan emotion together in her copies. She only uses verified information from reliable sources like the PGA TOUR.

Her favorite golfers are Nelly Korda and Tiger Woods, both for their playing style as well as their mental strength. Much of her time away from work is spent playing golf, but she also enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and learning new hobbies or upskilling.

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Edited by Prathik BR