Rory McIlroy accuses coach of ‘giving away all our secrets’ in frosty TV exchange

Rory McIlroy recently found himself embroiled in a minor controversy after accusing his own coach, Brad Faxon, of revealing secrets during a tense interview. This incident unfolded during McIlroy’s pursuit of his second US Open title, a victory that has eluded him since his 2011 triumph at Congressional Country Club.

McIlroy, who has been without a major win since his 2014 PGA Championship victory, ended the third round of this year’s US Open three strokes behind leader Bryson DeChambeau. Despite his strong start, where he shared the lead at five-under-par after the first round, McIlroy slipped with a two-over-par performance in the second round. He managed to recover slightly in the third round, posting a one-under-par score.

Following his third-round performance, McIlroy was interviewed by Kira K. Dixon from Sky Sports. During the conversation, Dixon referenced comments made by McIlroy’s putting coach, Brad Faxon, who had suggested on NBC that McIlroy experienced a “eureka moment” on a flight home from the Memorial Tournament. Faxon’s revelation implied that McIlroy had discovered a critical insight about his game while practicing in the air.

Caught off guard by Dixon’s comments, McIlroy hesitated before responding, “Okay. Erm, it may be true. I don’t know if I want to disclose it right now. It’s nice to know that Fax is sort of giving away all of our secrets.” Although Dixon quickly clarified that Faxon hadn’t disclosed specifics, McIlroy remained cautious, acknowledging that he often contemplates his game during flights.

Despite the tension, McIlroy focused on the positives from his round, stating, “It was difficult, but overall I felt like I gave a really good account of myself. I played really well, most of my game was firing, with a couple of loose iron shots towards the end of the round. Overall, I would have taken one-under-par on the first tee today. It’s a grind. The US Open feels like you play two golf tournaments in one week. I’m going to try to recover as good as I can tonight and get ready for one more day of grinding tomorrow.”

McIlroy will enter the final round tied at four-under-par with Patrick Cantlay and Matthieu Pavon, all vying to close the gap on DeChambeau and potentially claim the US Open title. As the final round looms, McIlroy’s focus will be on maintaining his form and overcoming the challenging course conditions to end his major championship drought.