Rory McIlroy: World number two consults Tiger Woods’ ex-coach Butch Harmon before Masters

Rory McIlroy has consulted Tiger Woods’ former coach Butch Harmon in a bid to address the issues in his game prior to his latest bid to win The Masters.

World number two McIlroy will become the sixth player to win all four men’s majors if he wins next week’s Masters.

But with just one top-20 finish on the PGA Tour this season, the 34-year-old has sought Harmon’s help.

Harmon, 80, worked with Woods for his first eight major wins before splitting with the then-world number one in 2002.

Rory McIlroy

“I went last week to see Butch Harmon for a golf lesson,” McIlroy told the I Can Fly podcast.

“I’ve seen him over the years, like once every few years. I’ll say, ‘Hey, Butch, can I just come see you and you can take a look and see what you think’.”

McIlroy expanded on the visit in his pre-tournament news conference prior to his challenge at this week’s Texas Open in San Antonio, adding that concerns over his iron play had made him decide to seek Harmon’s advice.

“I met Butch when I was 14 years old, so we’ve always had a good relationship. If there’s one guy that I want to go and get a second opinion from, it’s him,” added the world number two.

“He’s sort of half golf coach, half psychologist in a way. It’s fun to go out there, I went and spent probably four hours with him in Vegas. He said a couple of things to me that resonated.

McIlroy’s long-time coach is fellow Northern Irishman Michael Bannon, although the four-time major winner has also worked with Englishman Pete Cowen.

Florida-based McIlroy added that when he was leaving for the airport for his trip to meet Harmon in Las Vegas, his daughter Poppy asked him where he was going.

When he said he was going for a golf lesson, McIlroy added: “She said, ‘Dada, you already know how to play golf’. That’s probably the best piece of advice I’ve gotten in the last three years.”

Harmon has also coached Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson and Greg Norman to major triumphs.

McIlroy has made nine unsuccessful attempts at Augusta to complete the career Grand Slam, with his best finish a second place behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022, in addition to five other performances in the top 10. – bbc.com