Rory McIlroy is on the brink of making history, with the chance to equal Seve Ballesteros’ six Harry Vardon Trophies as the top player in the Race to Dubai standings. With just Colin Montgomerie’s eight titles ahead of him, McIlroy is aiming for a remarkable achievement over the next two weeks.
However, despite his enviable position, the world number three isn’t entirely satisfied with his game. In fact, McIlroy has been vocal about his concerns with his swing, admitting that recent months have left him feeling less than confident in his performance.
Rory McIlroy’s change in swing
Rory McIlroy marked his 26th start at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship this year. As he goes on to the next weekend with a rather heavy schedule before he makes it to the holidays, one thing that will be highlighted is his change in the swing. He locked himself up for three days to change his swing, after the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship where he lost the trophy by just one position.
“Yeah, I probably haven’t liked the shape of my golf swing for a while, especially the backswing,” he said. “The only way I was going to make a change or at least move in the right direction with my swing was to lock myself in a studio and not see the ball flight for a bit and just focus entirely on the movement.
Last week, Rory McIlroy finally got outside to hit some shots and assess how his swing was feeling. He admitted that he struggles when trying to make specific swing changes. If he starts mis-hitting the ball or not getting the results he wants, he tends to revert to his old swing because it’s more familiar and comfortable. It’s a challenging cycle for him to break, but he’s determined to work through it.
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“I think doing this in the studio it was a big key for me to just try to make a start on getting the swing back to where I want it to be. But it’s an ongoing process, as you know, to get out here and play. When there’s sequences to the shots that you hit, you’re always going to revert back to what’s comfortable. Hopefully the more that I do over these next few months, it will bed in and get back to the shape I want to be in.”
While he is currently tied for the 14th position, there is still time for him to grab the momentum and prove himself. Do you think he will finally be able to clinch a victory this weekend? Stay tuned to find out.
