Believe it or not, Rory McIlroy has not won a major in the last nine years. Yes, rub your eyes and pinch yourself all you want, but that’s the truth. It’s a cruel irony that one of the best golfers of the modern era has only four majors to his name, with the last one coming in when Brooks Koepka was still looking for his maiden PGA Tour victory. Koepka, meanwhile, has amassed five majors since then, four of which came in the last five years.

Even Pete Cowen, who trained both of them, is shocked and feels McIlroy should have more Majors under his belt. In a candid chat with Noah Lack for an EssentiallySports exclusive, the legendary coach revealed that two majors in particular should definitely have gone his way, but his competitors “played just a bit better right at the death”!

Rory McIlroy was destined to win these two majors, but…

Cowen believes there are two majors that the Northern Irish golfer had his hands on. Well, almost. The first one was the heartbreak at Torry Pines in 2021, where the 34-year-old golfer was leading at first. However, with a 1-under 73 in the final round, the 24-time PGA Tour winner finished in the seventh spot, with John Rahm clinching first the lead and then the U.S. Open from his grasp.

Cowen was by his side at the time, and two years later, he still thinks McIlroy should have written his name on it. “He should have won when I was working with him in the US Open that Rahm won,” said the veteran coach in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. The Northern Irish linksman was in phenomenal form leading up to the U.S. Open, as per his own admission. “I said to him [this] should be your week.”

The second one came recently. And this one will sting McIlroy even further, as he came agonizingly close to ending his drought at The Open last year. In the Old Course, Cameron Smith came from behind to steal McIlroy’s thunder, as the Australian’s 8-under 64 was enough to deny McIlroy his fifth major. Cowen echoed many of us when he said in the EssentiallySports Fancast, “He should have won St. Andrews, where Cam Smith won. There’s no doubt about that.”

Pete Cowen first saw Rory McIlroy when the 4X Major winner was still a teenager of thirteen. But even at that age, the young kid didn’t fail to impress Cowen. Years later, they would work together on the Northern Irish International’s swings.

Read More: ‘Head to Head’: Pete Cowen Makes a Bold Brooks Koepka Verdict on Rory McIlroy’s Devastating Major Drought

McIlroy, however, split with Cowen in 2021 in the wake of the Ryder Cup disaster, where Europe fell victim to the USA’s lethal display of a record-breaking 19-9 loss. But speaking at the time, McIlroy revealed he still has a great relationship with the former coach and can go back to him for advice whenever he needs to. From Cowen’s comments, it appears that he still wants to win a major with his former student. While fans speculate that the four-time Major winner resigned from the Tour policy board to focus on his elusive fifth, is another partnership between these two in the offing?

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