RORY McILROY has to take a long, hard look at the mirror he uses for putting practice – and admit it is time to get help.
His putting at the USPGA Championship was nothing short of horrendous and it was no surprise that he missed the cut on three over par.
He was staring at an early exit until he sank a 34 feet bomb at the long 17th hole – and almost farcical birdie considering what had gone before.
The stats show that McIlroy was the second best player in the field off the tee – and 154th of the 156 starters on the Baltusrol greens.
It was not like the world No4 could not see this coming. He is a shocking 184th on the US Tour this year at converting putts from inside ten feet.
He even tried putting cack-handed – left hand below right for a while – and it prompted a slight improvement.
But it was only a short term fix, and he quickly reverted to the traditional grip.
Brilliant ball-striking will only get you so far, and the simple fact is that he is not good enough at getting the ball into the hole to contend in the Majors at the moment.
There were three more misses from inside ten feet yesterday, and when McIlroy sent a simple five footer sliding past the hole on the 16th, one fan summed up what the Ulsterman himself must have been thinking.
He yelled: “Come on Rory – what the hell was that?”
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McIlroy says he is not consulting a putting coach at the moment, arguing: “I’m sort of doing it on my own. I have got a few drills that I do and work on the mirror a little bit.
“That’s really it. I sort of try to create my own feelings. It’s good on the putting green. It’s just a matter of getting it from the putting green to the course.”
Yet his most productive years 2012-2015 – when he racked up 11 wins, including three Majors – came when he was consulting putting guru Dave Stockton.
It was not a regular thing, but when McIlroy felt he needed an extra pair of eyes he turned to one of the most famous short game coaches in the game. Boy, does he need another pair of eyes just now.
He finally made his first birdie at Baltusrol at the 22nd attempt, rolling in a 14-footer on the short third. That was easily as good as it got.
The next longest putt before that monster on 17 he made was from four feet for another birdie at the sixth. He also converted a tap-in to pick up another shot at the 11th.
His putting woes were rammed home by playing partner, Jason Day the defending USPGA champion.
The world No1 bounced back from a double bogey at the seventh hole by draining putts from everywhere as he birdied seven of the next eight holes to charge into second place on eight under..
The days when McIlroy went on birdie runs like that are becoming a distant memory, and his problems will be giving European Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke nightmares.
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