Rory McIlroy's barren run becoming 'harder to arrest'

[ASFN Admin]

With every major setback, Rory McIlroy's barren run becomes increasingly more difficult to arrest. That is the view of Sir Nick Faldo, the three-time champion, who like every observer here at Augusta National watched on in pity as the Northern Irishman missed his first Masters cut in 11 years. After a torrid year, which has witnessed the 31-year-old fall from world No 1 to outside the top 10, few expected McIlroy to win this week and so become just the sixth player in history to complete the grand slam. But even fewer would have anticipated such a limp display. On six-over, he fell three shots short, but in truth he seemed even further away than that. In the CBS tower, Faldo did not mince his words. “We are seven years on from his last major and that is a lot of scar tissue,” he said. “This game is a knife where trust and confidence can be lost in one shot.” The hope is, of course, that McIlroy’s self-belief can be fixed in one shot, although that appears forlorn in the extreme at the moment. The two-way miss is buried deep within his broken psyche and Pete Cowen, his new swing coach, will realise that this is as much a mental problem as it is technical. Paul McGinley, McIlroy’s friend and former Ryder Cup mentor, believes the golfer should step away. "There a lot of work to be done, but I think the best thing for Rory is a few weeks in the sunshine on a beach somewhere and clear his head,” McGinley, the Sky Sports analyst, said. “Sometimes the harder you try at this game the harder it gets, no matter how talented you are.” Butch Harmon, the celebrated coach, concurs. "Rory's out of sorts. And a couple of weeks off down in the Bahamas with the family could be what he needs,” he said. “Just get away from golf and then come back with a fresh outlook.” It will be intriguing to see if McIlroy takes the advice after what can be considered the worst month of his 13-year career. It began with a missed cut at The Players, gathered pace with his 6&5 defeat to Ian Poulter at the WGC Match Play two weeks ago and then descended still further with this Masters mediocrity. Of course, it is not Cowen’s fault. As the Yorkshire says: “I am not a miracle worker.” Cowen is right to ask for time. Masters 2021 leaderbaord: latest score and current standings from Augusta

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