Rory McIlroy splits with Pete Cowen, returns to longtime swing instructor

Rory McIlroy has parted ways with Pete Cowen, the swing instructor he began working with eight months ago, and has reunited with his longtime coach, Michael Bannon.

The four-time major winner confirmed the change Wednesday when Golfweek asked if he has resumed working with the instructor who taught him from childhood.

“Yes, Michael and I are back working together,” McIlroy said. “I’ve always had a relationship with Pete and I’ll ask for his input if I feel I need it. But now it’s Michael and me.”

McIlroy last worked with Cowen at the Ryder Cup in late September. He grew emotional in a TV interview that week, expressing frustration that he hadn’t played better for his team. On October 17, he won the CJ Cup in Las Vegas for his 20th PGA Tour title. A few days later at his home in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, McIlroy resumed working with Bannon, who first began coaching him as an 8-year-old prodigy.

That was Bannon’s first trip to the United States since the COVID-19 pandemic began more than 18 months ago. Bannon is now back in Florida as McIlroy prepares for next week’s DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

McIlroy has admitted to searching for his game during the months Bannon remained at home in Northern Ireland, and to losing his way while attempting to imitate Bryson DeChambeau’s swing speed last winter. At the Players Championship in March, he began working with Cowen, a 70-year-old Englishman who is a familiar presence at PGA Tour events. Cowen has coached a lengthy roster of elite players, including Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Brooks Koepka.

After missed cuts at the Players Championship and the Masters, McIlroy won the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow for the third time. But that early success was overtaken by a consistent decline in his ball-striking and results. McIlroy recorded only one other top 10 finish on the PGA Tour — a tie for 7th at the U.S. Open in June — until the BMW Championship, by which time he had publicly said he was trying to take more ownership of his golf swing.

Statistics revealed a man struggling. McIlroy has not ranked outside the top six in Strokes Gained Off the Tee in any season of his PGA Tour career, but this summer he failed to crack the top 15 in several events and was outside the top 40 at the PGA Championship and Memorial Tournament. His iron play was worse: only twice while working with Cowen did he rank inside the top 10 in Strokes Gained Approach. Even his victory at the CJ Cup exposed full swing issues. His Strokes Gained Approach — in which he lost 3.6 shots to the field and ranked 67th among 77 competitors — was the worst recorded by a PGA Tour winner in the Shotlink stats era. However, McIlroy led the field in putting and held off Collin Morikawa by a single shot.

During the summer, McIlroy fell to as low as 15th in the Official World Golf Rankings. He is currently ranked No. 8 (he sits at No. 17 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings). He plans to play just two more events in 2021: the DP World Championship next week and the Hero World Challenge, hosted by Tiger Woods, which will be contested December 2-5 in the Bahamas.