It’s no secret Rory McIlroy has been on a bit of a skid. After finishing runner-up to Kurt Kitayama at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, the Northern Irishman missed the cut at both the Players and Masters. He did take down Scottie Scheffler to earn himself the bronze medal at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play after missing the weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, but his results have been a mixed bag all of 2023.
A few weeks ago in Charlotte, McIlroy tied for 47th, a substandard finish for a man that has dominated Quail Hollow and the Wells Fargo Championship for most of his career — McIlroy’s won the event three times.
Golfweek’s Eamon Lynch reported on Golf Channel Tuesday that Tiger Woods texted McIlroy after the event and told him he saw something in the four-time major champion’s swing.
And when Tiger calls, you listen.
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McIlroy spent some time with Woods at his home on Friday to talk things over and diagnosis the possible issue.
In addition to Rory McIlroy having Michael Bannon in town, @eamonlynch relaying on Golf Channel that Tiger texted Rory he saw something in his swing at Quail Hollow, and Rory spent a couple hours at Tiger’s house on Friday talking about the swing.
— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) May 16, 2023
McIlroy hasn’t won a major championship since 2014, and he hopes a visit to a familiar spot of the country may bring some good vibes this week. His wife, Erica, is from the area and the couple has spent a lot of time in the Rochester, New York.
“I’ve spent summers here, I’ve spent falls here, I’ve spent a few Christmases here,” he said Tuesday while visiting with the media at Oak Hill Country Club ahead the 2023 PGA Championship. “I really love the seasons. We live in Florida. We don’t get that. So it’s nice to come up here and see the leaves change in October and have the snow at Christmas time. There’s certainly parts of it that I’ve really enjoyed and will continue to enjoy.”
The 2012 and 2014 PGA champ hasn’t had a ton of success at the year’s second major over the last few seasons, though he did grab solo eighth at Southern Hills in 2022.
We’ll see Thursday is any of Woods’ magic wore off on McIlroy.
