Rory McIlroy takes a jab at NBC analyst ‘giving away his secrets’ as he reacts to having his ‘eureka’ moment

Rory McIlroy didn't look pleased with an NBC analyst for spilling out his secret. The analyst was none other than his putting coach, Brad Faxon.

McIlroy fired an even par 70 on Saturday, June 15, to aggregate at 4-under and place at T2, just three strokes behind the lead after 54 holes at the US Open 2024. He has been having a great week at Pinehurst No. 2 and leads in strokes gained: off the tee.

During Saturday's broadcast, NBC's Brad Faxon shared that McIlroy had found his 'Eureka' moment last Sunday on the flight after the Memorial Tournament. When Sky Sports Kira Dixon asked McIlroy about this, he took a jibe at Faxon.

"Umm, it may be true," he said. "I don’t know if I want to disclose it right now. I’m not sure why Fax is giving away sort of all my secrets."

"We spend a lot of time on planes and I spend a lot of time thinking about my game when I’m in the air and sometimes things come to me," he added.

For the uninitiated, Faxon also serves as Rory McIlroy's putting coach, so it shouldn't be surprising that he would know more about the golfer than others. However, the Northern Irishman wasn't expecting Faxon to reveal his secrets to everyone.

When will Rory McIlroy tee off at the US Open 2024?

Rory McIlroy is paired with Patrick Cantlay for the fourth round of the US Open. The duo will tee off on Sunday, June 16 at 2:10 pm ET.

Here are the complete tee time details for the US Open 2024:

7:30 am: Seonghyeon Kim, Gunnar Broin (a)
7:41 am: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jackson Suber
7:52 am: Brandon Wu, Austin Eckroat
8:03 am: Francesco Molinari, Ben Kohles
8:14 am: Dean Burmester, Ryan Fox
8:25 am: Sepp Straka, Martin Kaymer
8:36 am: Greyson Sigg, Cameron Young
8:47 am: Nico Echavarria, Brendon Todd
8:58 am: Justin Lower, Sam Bennett
9:09 am: Adam Scott, Brian Campbell
9:25 am: Matt Kuchar, Frankie Capan III
9:36 am: Adam Svensson, Harris English
9:47 am: Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim
9:58 am: Max Greyserman, Sahith Theegala
10:09 am: Daniel Berger, Keegan Bradley
10:20 am: Scottie Scheffler, Tom McKibbin
10:31 am: Brooks Koepka, Tim Widing
10:42 am: Nicolai Højgaard, Emiliano Grillo
10:53 am: Isaiah Salinda, Christiaan Bezuidenhout
11:04 am: Cameron Smith, Wyndham Clark
11:15 am: J.T. Poston, Tommy Fleetwood
11:31 am: Shane Lowry, Zac Blair
11:42 am: Billy Horschel, Chris Kirk
11:53 am: Denny McCarthy, Min Woo Lee
12:04 pm: Neal Shipley (a), Luke Clanton (a)
12:15 pm: Sam Burns, Stephan Jaeger
12:26 pm: Brian Harman, Mark Hubbard
12:37 pm: David Puig, Thomas Detry
12:48 pm: Akshay Bhatia, Russell Henley
12:59 pm: Davis Thompson, Xander Schauffele
1:10 pm: Sergio Garcia, Taylor Pendrith
1:26 pm: Aaron Rai, Tom Kim
1:37 pm: Corey Conners, Collin Morikawa
1:48 pm: Tony Finau, Tyrrell Hatton
1:59 pm: Ludvig Åberg, Hideki Matsuyama
2:10 pm: Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy
2:21 pm: Matthieu Pavon, Bryson DeChambeau

About the author

Shobhit is one of Sportskeeda’s most seasoned golf journalists, having already authored 3600+ articles and received nearly 5.7 million reads. Prior to his current role, he worked with the Asiana Times after completing his MSc in Geology, giving him a solid foundation in understanding the terrain, variety and challenges posed by various golf courses.

He is a keen follower of the sport and keeps himself updated about the latest trends, news and updates via social media and various news platforms. Shobhit is also methodical about accuracy, going through multiple articles from leading media houses and reputed sources before writing his own. Simultaneously, he specializes in writing reader-friendly content that conveys the necessary information in simple language.

Shobhit was a fan of Tiger Woods growing up, but of late, Nelly Korda, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg have caught his attention.

He likes to spend his downtime singing and writing, while he is also an avid watcher of cricket and tennis.

Know More

Edited by Shobhit Kukreti