Six years back, during the last hole of the Players Championship, Rory McIlroy took off the dog-head cover from his driver amidst applause from the spectators. Similar to a gladiator drawing their preferred blade, he hit his drive 300 yards down the left part of the fairway, secured a par, and then raised the gold prize above his head as victory was his for the first time.
Throughout most of his career, the driver has served as his primary tool. It was his trusted club, his main source of power, and essentially his special ability. Yet, during The Players Championship this year, McIlroy emerged victorious through a different approach, relying less on that signature strength. Rather, he demonstrated an assortment of new skills.
emphasized with a "three-quarter, three-quarter" camera angle
On the 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass during the playoff, which essentially sealed the trophy for them once more.
"I'm a more well-rounded player," McIlroy stated to the press following his victory. This is something we've heard him say both earlier in the week and immediately after his triumph at Pebble Beach last month.
However, what exactly constitutes a more well-rounded player? In what ways has he enhanced his overall performance? And how is this showing up in his play at tournaments such as Sawgrass?
Let’s take a look.
• • •
Whenever a new young talent steps onto the professional circuit and makes an impact, murmurs circulate through the locker rooms and practice areas, pinpointing what sets apart this fresh face from others. In Rory’s case, it was all about his exceptional driving skills.
As soon as he went professional, he stood out as a top-notch golfer. During his initial complete season on the PGA Tour in 2010, McIlroy secured the 6th position in Strokes Gained/Off-The-Tee.
Interestingly, this is still his lowest rank in that category over the past 16 years on tour.
Even with his initial and ongoing achievements, some believed that McIlroy overly depended on one particular facet of his performance.
During his first season in 2010, he managed to gain 0.70 strokes from drives off the tee compared to an overall gain of only 0.71 strokes. This means that approximately 98% of his advantage over his opponents was due to his performance when teeing off.
Impressive, but not complete.
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In 2014, when Rory claimed victory in two major championships, with a WGC win at Firestone nestled between them, he managed to improve his performance off the tee by 1.4 strokes per round compared to his rookie year—a near doubling of his earlier advantage. Nonetheless, even though this specific enhancement took place, his total gameplay saw an even greater boost, increasing by 2.3 strokes each round overall.
This indicated that only 60.3 percent of McIlroy’s lead depended on his driving skills. His performance stood within the top 15 on tour for Strokes Gained/Approach and he ranked 41st (among 177 players) in putting accuracy.
When applying this analysis to Rory McIlroy’s award-winning season in 2019, we can observe the ongoing development in his gameplay. During that period, he managed an impressive gain of 2.55 strokes per round, marking the peak of his performance as measured by Strokes Gained/Total for a single season. It should be noted that only Tiger Woods has achieved higher averages three separate times within one season.
Out of those 2.55 strokes that McIlroy exceeded the tour average by, just 1.2 shots, which equate to 46.8 percent, originated from the tee. Following his victory at Sawgrass that same year, he stated in the press room that he perceived his performance similarly.
I reviewed my statistics each week, and I noticed I topped the charts in strokes gained from tee to green. My putting was solid, and my performance around the greens was also impressive. All aspects were performing exceptionally well, which led me to emphasize having patience, knowing success was simply a matter of time.
It paid off handsomely for him as he secured three victories during the 2019 season. Throughout those 17 tournaments, he achieved 14 top-10 finishes, clinched the FedEx Cup, earned the Vardon Trophy for maintaining the lowest scoring average, and was crowned Player of the Year—an accolade which marked his return to winning this prestigious title on the PGA Tour after some years away from such triumph.
His most comprehensive season to date was entirely successful, even though it occurred beyond the major leagues.
Therefore, heading into this season following the disappointment at the 2024 U.S. Open and the frustrations experienced at Augusta and Royal Troon, McIlroy embarked on an offseason focused on altering his swing with the aim of once more transforming himself into a "well-rounded player."
He continues collaborating with Brad Faxon on his putting technique, adopting a fresh approach to swinging with his irons, along with focusing more on executing knock-down shots.
The findings are evident.
• • •
After his remarkable win at Pebble Beach in February, McIlroy secured The Players title through a thrilling playoff performance, showcasing the precise approach shot he has been refining. At TPC Sawgrass, he demonstrated reduced dependence on his driver and superior play across various aspects of his game to claim victory.
McIlroy scored 12 under par over four rounds, outperforming the competition by 14.6 strokes. Only 18% of these improvements were due to his drives. His putting contributed 34%, and his approach play accounted for 53%. This can be described as a thoroughly comprehensive display.
Throughout this season, the golfer from Northern Ireland is once again topping the tour rankings in Strokes Gained/Total at an unprecedentedly high standard. He is achieving a gain of 2.3 strokes per round, which stands as the highest mark since his previous win at The Players Championship back in 2019.
Out of those 2.3 strokes per round, just 40 percent, which amounts to about 0.9 shots, come from drives off the tee.
Using the metaphor of a baseball pitcher, he’s discovering methods to record outs without solely depending on his fastball. He’s uncovered alternative routes to achieve success. He currently possesses a broader range of tools than he’s ever had throughout his career.
is
a more complete player.
Hear it from Paul McGinley instead.
"There’s an ongoing transformation in his gameplay. It’s impressive to witness, particularly since he’s developing into a well-rounded player despite entering his mid-30s," commented the ex-European Ryder Cup team leader during a segment of Golf Channel's "Live From The Players" broadcast on Monday. “Back then, there was no chance he could have claimed victory at this event; he relied heavily on sheer self-assurance overruling the course challenges. Today, however, he has the ability to excel when playing defensively. We often joke about it, but truly exceptional athletes like him possess the capability to triumph even when not firing on all cylinders. This is precisely what Rory is beginning to demonstrate.”
Will that complete game aid him in achieving the career grand slam within three weeks? Only time will reveal the answer. For now, though, his journey towards becoming a more well-rounded player seems to be progressing as planned.
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