Rory McIlroy's big gamble pays off as Masters hopes renewed after painful season

Rory McIlroy reaped the rewards for his hard enactment down closed doors to hole his play swing, winning the DP World Tour Championship successful Dubai connected Sunday to decorativeness the play connected a high

Rory McIlroy's determination to "lock himself successful a studio" and signifier his golf plaything without a simulator has paid off, with his crippled looking successful good signifier heading into adjacent season.

McIlroy took an extended break aft narrowly losing retired to Billy Horschel successful the BMW PGA Championship astatine Wentworth successful September, with the American snatching triumph connected the 2nd playoff spread with a stunning eagle.

The effect successful Surrey continued a play of acute frustration. McIlroy had won 3 times by that point, but immense opportunities to triumph the US Open, Irish Open and the BMW PGA passed him by, with his plaything failing him successful the unit moments.

But aft spending respective weeks moving down closed doors, hitting countless balls into a blank surface arsenic helium tried to instrumentality a plaything change, McIlroy is reaping the rewards. The Ulsterman finished successful a stock of 3rd spot astatine the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship past week earlier ending a six-month hold for a win astatine the DP World Tour Championship connected Sunday.

The 35-year-old won astatine 15-under-par astatine the Earth Course, 2 shots wide of Rasmus Hojgaard – the antheral who broke his bosom with a precocious surge astatine Royal County Down successful September. And determination were times erstwhile McIlroy looked similar helium mightiness endure yet different achy Sunday, with a bid of putts failing to autumn aboriginal successful the backmost nine.

This time, however, McIlroy's plaything stayed existent arsenic the unit grew. A magnificent wedge into the 16th acceptable up a tap-in birdie to propulsion 1 changeable up of Hojgaard, and helium was error-free implicit the last 2 holes, putting the seal connected his triumph with a smartly made birdie astatine the last.

Last week, McIlroy went into item astir the enactment helium had been doing connected his swing, saying helium wanted to spot nary feedback connected the simulator surface truthful the process was not clouded by short-term results.

“The lone mode I was going to marque a change, oregon astatine slightest determination successful the close absorption with my swing, was to fastener myself successful a workplace and not spot the shot formation for a spot and conscionable absorption wholly connected the movement,” helium said. “I’m unspeakable if I’m trying to marque a definite plaything oregon alteration and I commencement to miss-strike it oregon not deed the shots I privation to hit. I’ll conscionable revert backmost to what I was doing due to the fact that it’s comfortable.

“I deliberation doing this successful the workplace was a large cardinal for maine to conscionable effort to commencement getting the plaything backmost to wherever I privation it to be. It’s thing conscionable to marque my play plaything much efficient,” helium said, “and if it’s much efficient, past it means it’s not going to interruption down arsenic overmuch nether pressure.”

With McIlroy returning to thing adjacent to highest signifier – and with what seems to beryllium a much trustworthy plaything – helium has each crushed to fancy his chances of ending his 10-year large drought erstwhile helium arrives astatine the Masters successful April.

Going backmost to basics and making a important alteration to his plaything was a gamble considering helium has been precise competitory passim 2024. It was nary definite happening that it would wage off, but it has – and quickly.