Rory McIlroy to rising PGA Tour star Tom Kim: "No, no, no, no, no!"
Rory McIlroy admits he tried to persuade rising PGA Tour star Tom Kim "not to go down this path" after the youngster picked his brain at the CJ Cup.
Rory McIlroy admitted he tried to persuade rising PGA Tour star Tom Kim not to go down the route of "speed training" which has affected his career as the young South Korean picked his brain during the opening round of the CJ Cup.
McIlroy, 33, was paired with the 20-year-old South Korean during the opening round at Congaree Golf Club where both players started fast, notching the same score of 5-under par in South Carolina to sit only one stroke back of the early leader Trey Mullinax.
Kim gate-crashed McIlroy's press conference less than 24 hours earlier and the Ulsterman dropped some knowledge on the two-time PGA Tour winner, who is attempting to win three times before the age of 21. It would be a feat not even Tiger Woods accomplished.
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McIlroy, who flew in coach Michael Bannon for a catch-up this week, admitted he was tempted to take the rest of the year off and return to the PGA Tour in January at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.
But the drive to compete was just too much.
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Asked what his impressions were of Kim, McIlroy said "he didn't really miss a shot out there".
"[He] makes the same swing at it pretty much every time, like it's very, very consistent, very steady," McIlroy added.
"He was sort of picking my brain a little bit out there about like speed training and I'm like, 'No, no, no, no'
"I think as he gets a little older and maybe a touch stronger, he'll get that naturally, but I was like, 'Do not go down that path, you're good the way you are.'"
McIlroy famously tried to chase speed and power after watching Bryson DeChambeau - whose new girlfriend was revealed after a case of mistaken identity - beefed up a few years ago.
The four-time major champion previously admitted in interviews that it hampered his career.
After he broke down in tears at the Ryder Cup last September, McIlroy said he reflected heavily on his career.
"I need to play golf, I need to simplify it," McIlroy previously said. "I need to just be me. I think for the last few months I was maybe trying to be someone else to try and get better."
Alluding to this period, McIlroy said after Thursday's opening round: "I sort of went down a path that I realized wasn't for me."
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