Rory McIlroy has consulted Tiger Woods‘ longtime coach Butch Harmon to address flaws in his game ahead of his latest Masters bid.
If McIlroy wins the Masters next week, he will become only the sixth player to win all four majors. But, with only one top-20 finish on the PGA Tour this season, the 34-year-old has sought Harmon’s assistance. Harmon, 80, collaborated with Woods on his first eight major victories until splitting with the then-world number one in 2002. “I went last week to see Butch Harmon for a golf lesson,” McIlroy told the I Can Fly podcast. “I have seen him several times throughout the years. I’ll say, ‘Hey, Butch, can I just come see you and you can have a look and see what you think’.”
McIlroy’s longtime coach is fellow Northern Irishman Michael Bannon, but the four-time major winner has also worked with Englishman Pete Cowen. Florida-based McIlroy stated that when he was departing for the airport to meet Harmon in Las Vegas, his daughter Poppy asked him where he was going. When he mentioned going for a golf lesson, McIlroy added: “She said, ‘Dada, you already know how to play golf’.” That’s definitely the best piece of advise I’ve received in the past three years.
Harmon has also coached Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Greg Norman to major victories. McIlroy has made nine unsuccessful efforts at Augusta to complete the career Grand Slam, with his best finish of second place behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022, and five additional top-10 finishes.
