Rory McIlroy’s former coach opens up on the Northern Irishman’s mindset after horror first round at the PGA Championship

Rory McIlroy’s former coach Pete Cowen has given fans an insight into the Northern Irishman’s mentality following his struggles in the first round of the PGA Championship. 

Masters champion Rory McIlroy already faces a mammoth task to make it two major titles in a row after an error-strewn opening round at Quail Hollow.

McIlroy, who ended his 11-year wait for a major title at the Masters last month, laboured his way to a three-over-par 74 and already trails leader Jhonattan Vegas by 10 shots. 

McIlroy’s mindset has been a major point of discussion in the sport, both before and after his triumph at Augusta. 

And old coach Cowen believes McIlroy is still mentally the same player that he worked with for eight months in 2021 after knowing each other since his junior days..

Speaking to SveaCasino, he said: ‘I don’t work with him now but I’ve always been friendly with him and that’s why he asked me during COVID when Michael Bannon, who has been his coach forever, didn’t want to travel. To be fair, we won five times when working together.

Cowen has been following McIlroy’s game since the Northern Irishman was a junior

‘I haven’t seen a change in his mentality. He’s the same player since I worked with him but that relief of coming through will only help with any positive attitude.’

Cowen currently coaches LIV Golf star Brooks Koepka, who also had a first round to forget at the PGA Championship, finishing four over. He also missed the cut at the Masters.

‘Brooks just needs to putt a little bit better, everything else in his game is in place. He’s not far off. He messed up a bit at Augusta when he had a chance of getting back into it in the second round on the 16th green.

‘He had a putt to go one under, missed that from 3 foot, bogeyed the 17th and lost his ball on the 18th to miss the cut. These things happen. He just needed to hold a few putts.’