Rory McIlroy: ‘I was more impulsive back then. I’ve matured, I’ve learned’

The golfer explains how Steph Curry and a sports psychologist have inspired him to find inner comfort as the Open nears

Rory McIlroy practices ahead of The Open 2021 at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent. Picture: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire.

It used to be that the admission of vulnerability by high-profile sportspeople was met with general disdain. Flash cars, flashier houses and sponsorship deals worth telephone numbers were supposed to offset any nagging professional doubts. Rory McIlroy has encountered a lifetime of this; onlookers erroneously believe he has become a little too comfortable with life outside the ropes.

The formalisation of McIlroy’s relationship with Pete Cowen, the renowned swing coach , drew attention. Under the radar, though, was another key detail; McIlroy is once again working with Dr Bob Rotella, the renowned sports psychologist. At Royal St George’s next week, McIlroy will seek to claim a second Claret Jug and end the wait for a fifth major that has stretched to seven years.