Rory McIlroy had a great start this year by winning the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the fourth time, with a score of 2-under 70, however, he has been unable to get hold of the top 10 position in the PGA Tour. Well, his only chance to do so before Masters is at the Valero Texas Open.

To ensure that it happens, he flew to meet Tiger Woods’ ex-coach Butch Harmon for a golf lesson. He has visited him several times when in doubt to get second opinions and well, after every meeting, he has always felt good about himself! It turns out that this time was no different for him, and it very much reflected in the first round of the Valero Texas Open as well. For this, he has also dubbed him as ‘half golf coach, half psychologist!’

Butch Harmon gave Rory McIlroy a different strategy for the greens

In the press conference held after the conclusion of the first round of the Valero Texas Open, Rory McIlroy was asked whether Butch Harmon imparted golfing wisdom to the 24-time PGA Tour and whether the veteran coach’s words gave him some clarity. To this, the Northern Irishman dilly-dallied a bit and stated, “What I’m working on or what I’ve been trying to do the last couple weeks is no different than what I’ve been trying to do previously, he just sort of gave me a different way to do it. “

McIlroy further added that Harmon’s way of explaining things was what made all the difference that truly struck the correct chord in the 34-year-old’s mind and he iterated, “You know, you could tell someone five different things and like for the same feel — like to a piece of a swing, but sometimes none of them resonated, sometimes all of them, sometimes one thing difference because of the way he put things and how he .”

Wee-Mac tied for the 66 position in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, got a T24 position at the Genesis Invitational, and T19 at THE PLAYERS, which is a downer for a 24-time PGA Tour champion. However, at TPC San Antonio, McIlroy has played well in the first round.

He scored 3 birdies, securing himself a tie for the 8th position with a score of 3-under 69, which is a pretty good record considering how he has been playing in past matches. Thanking Harmon, he even said, “He gave me a tiny little something that I went with and, as I said, it’s felt a little better over the last two weeks and felt pretty good out there.”

Rory McIlroy before the first round had spoken about his iron game, and after giving out a spectacular performance, when he was asked the same question again, the answer this time was on the optimistic side! He was asked to grade his iron game for his present game, and here’s what he had to say.

Rory McIlroy speaks about overcoming his on-course struggles

The putting game that he had been struggling with for quite some time now, has mostly been left misses, playing with the irons and he was frustrated with it. He was so done with his left misses, that he even humorously added, “I’d much rather miss it to the right at the minute than miss it to the left.” He further stated that he was pretty much satisfied with the performance that he gave out in the first round with some nice shots that were consistent at the same time.

Read More: Rory McIlroy’s First Ever THE PLAYERS Championship Was Notorious and Infamous – ‘Kicked Out of Bars’

Starting from the first match on the PGA Tour, which is the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, through THE PLAYERS, there was not a single match that he played without carding a bogey. The opening round on the Oaks Course was McIlroy’s first round that he played without scoring a single bogey. He concluded, “My game over the last couple of months has been quite volatile, so to go out there and play a solid round of golf in pretty tricky conditions, pretty happy with it.”

Now the question is, will he be able to continue with his stellar performance in the following rounds as well? Will he make it to the top 10 on the PGA Tour before entering Masters? Stay tuned to find out!

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