Rory McIlroy blasted by former agent: "He opens his mouth too much!"

Rory McIlroy's former agent has accused the Northern Irishman of becoming a 'mouthpiece' for the PGA Tour.

14 Apr 2023

Rory McIlroy blasted by former agent: "He opens his mouth too much!"

Rory McIlroy's former agent Chubby Chandler has criticised the Northern Irishman, accusing the four-time major champion of becoming a PGA Tour 'mouthpiece'.

It was an accusation LIV Golf supremo Greg Norman previously lobbed at McIlroy.

And something that led to McIlroy re-igniting his feud with the Australian two-time Open champion after previously making a vow to himself he wasn't going to continue his public war of words with The Shark.

Chandler offered his thoughts to the i's Kevin Garside about McIlroy after the 33-year-old endured another miserable Masters.

McIlroy was supposed to be playing the designated PGA Tour event at Hilton Head this week but instead decided to skip it, providing no reason.

The decision has cost McIlroy millions of dollars. He was docked one quarter of his 2022 PIP bonus because it was the second designated event of the year he has skipped.

Per the stipulations unveiled at the start of the year, players were allowed to opt out of one designated event. McIlroy decided not to play the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua.

As Chandler sees it, McIlroy has made winning the career grand slam 'a bigger thing in his head than it actually is' and he has got too carried away with shouldering the PGA Tour on his shoulders as it battled LIV Golf in 2022.

He also believes McIlroy's walk-and-talk interview at The Masters was brilliant TV but a crazy decision. It's something that Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus would ever, ever do.

Even McIlroy acknowledged that.

Chandler told the paper:

"If you were a betting man you would probably bet against him winning. He has made winning the grand slam [all four majors] a bigger thing in his head than it actually is.

"He is not really driven by number of wins or number of majors per se, but he seems to be driven by wanting to win the grand slam. It's a massive mental block and it's getting harder and harder. Every time he gets there he has the pressure from everyone else, but also from himself."

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What about McIlroy's behaviour over the past 12 months?

"To me he has got carried away as mouthpiece of the PGA Tour. He is doing things he shouldn't be doing and opening his mouth too often. The interview on the fairway [at the Masters], absolutely brilliant TV but not good for Rory McIlroy.

"You can't be having a chat with a guy in the commentary box about the day and the way he is playing, or whatever, then get over a wedge and give it 100 per cent. You would never have got [Jack] Nicklaus doing it. You would never have got Tiger [Woods] doing it.

"If you could see into his head back in the days when he was flying around Augusta there was nothing in there other than hitting a golf ball. Now he has commitments with PGA Tour, where he has been groomed as a political figurehead, with TV, with half a dozen really big sponsors.

"And they take up time. He now has Workday [software company]. Workday put an add on TV, that will take a day of his time. That clutter manifests itself on the course. He needs to get away from a lot of that, and just trust his talent."

What do you make of Chandler's comments? Will McIlroy ever win the Grand Slam? Don't hesitate to Tweet us your thoughts.

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