Fansided

Rory McIlroy going back to basics at Dell Technologies Championship

By David Salituro

NORTON, MA - AUGUST 30: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in action during the Pro Am event prior to the start of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on August 30, 2018 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
NORTON, MA - AUGUST 30: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland in action during the Pro Am event prior to the start of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston on August 30, 2018 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images) /
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Rory McIlroy heads into the Dell Technologies Championship this week fresh off a long break he believes allowed him to find his old swing.

Coming off a frustrating week at the PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy knew he needed some help.

McIlroy, tied for 50th at Bellerive Country Club, has spent the past few weeks working on rediscovering the swing that made him the No. 1 player in the world.

He skipped The Northern Trust, the first event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, instead calling in longtime coach Michael Bannon to work with him in Florida.

To fix what he sees as flaws in his swing, McIlroy turned to a familiar source of inspiration: himself. He and Bannon watched video of what he used to do in an attempt to find that groove again.

He says the long break leading up to the Dell Technologies Championship this week has allowed him to fix what ailed him.

"“It was more just to work on my game,” he said at his press conference on Thursday. “I didn’t play very well in St. Louis, and that was all to do with swing mechanics and technique. I just needed to have a couple of weeks off and sort of assess where I was at. What i needed to do to improve and go forward.“So I worked for 10 days with Michael Bannon down in Florida. We worked on a few things. Sort of looking back at old video, all the way back to when I was 16, and sort of what I’ve done well in my swing throughout the years. Just sort of trying to get back to that, I guess.”"

McIlroy is in friendly territory this week at TPC Boston. He is a two-time champion of the Dell Technologies, in 2012 and 2016, when he won the FedEx Cup. This year he hasn’t shown the same form.

He believes, however, that he is closer than ever to finding his old form. He admits he is happy with the work he’s put in the past few weeks and looks forward to seeing the results that come with it.

"“I feel like I’ve made quite a bit of progress last week,” he said. “It feels good. It’s not like we’re trying to reinvent the wheel, it’s just going back to stuff I’ve done before.”"

As for seeing his younger self in those videos, McIlroy says it didn’t make him cringe.

"“No, I was very impressed. I was like, if that was a 16-year-old in front of me today I would say, ‘you’re going to be pretty good.”"

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McIlroy has just one win on the PGA Tour, the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He ranks 173rd in driving accuracy and 78th in strokes gained: approach to the green on tour this season.

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