Last year, Rory McIlroy’s putter let him down at the conclusion of the Irish Open. Going head-to-head with Rasmus Hojgaard, McIlroy inexplicably three-putted the penultimate hole from 25 feet to give the Dane an advantage, while a great effort at the last agonisingly missed to make a play-off.
It was a year of near-misses and missed opportunities, losing narrowly the following week at the BMW Championship at Wentworth to Billy Horschel in a play-off, and most notably, missing two short putts on the last three holes of the US Open at Pinehurst to lose to Bryson DeChambeau by one.
This year it is a different story and all those close calls are becoming wins. A fourth victory worldwide this year and a second national Open would not have come without one of his greatest putting performances. Once a weakness in his game, putting has become a strength for McIlroy this season. On the PGA Tour, he reached the heady heights of eighth on tour in strokes gained putting, up from a low of 159th in 2017.
In his first PGA Tour season, he was 145th in putting, winning tournaments in spite of, not because of his putting. The transformation of his putter from a liability to a weapon was truly complete at the K Club, holing more than 160 feet of putts over the final round.
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McIlroy holed putts of 38 feet at the second, 42 feet at the fifth and 28 feet at the last, by far the most impressive of them all given the moment, as well as three more putts over eight feet.
At the 13th, he could not believe his eyes as he took the lead from six feet and watched his putt almost 360 the hole and then fall in at the other side. The fine margins between winning and losing, holing putts and missing them. Sometimes, it is just your day.
“It was like it was in slow motion, I thought it can’t fall in, surely,” said McIlroy before praising his putting coach Brad Faxon, who he has been working with for six-and-a-half years and who has emphasised on McIlroy becoming an instinctive putter rather than one focused on technique.
He said in 2023 that the two keys for McIlroy when putting well are to have his right elbow slightly tucked in and then “getting lost in being as creative as you can be”. Advice too vague perhaps for a rank amateur, but perfect for a talent like McIlroy, who only needs his innate talent to be unlocked in the biggest moments.
“Working with Fax, he helped me find the style of putter I found, the [TaylorMade] Spider Mallet putter, it definitely helps me be a little more consistent. And with Fax I keep it really simple, only a couple of thoughts,” McIlroy said.
“Sometimes we will meet at the Bears Club in Florida. It is supposed to be for a putting lesson and we don’t even hit any putts. We will talk about putting over a coffee, we talk about mindset, we will talk about routine.
“One of the best putts I thought I hit today was the second putt on the second playoff hole, a little slider but a solid stroke especially before he hit his putt.
“For me it’s about keeping my right arm soft. It’s about keeping the putter level through impact and picking my spot a couple feet in front of me, lining up to that.
“When you get under pressure and your routine is dialed in, it sort of makes everything a little bit better and makes everything a bit easier.”
