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Rory McIlroy’s failure to win a major championship in the last decade is down to him having too much going on in his personal life.
That’s according to his former agent Andrew “Chubby” Chandler.
It looks like the Northern Irishman’s major drought will continue into an 11th year after he opened with a miserable 7-over 78 at Royal Troon. And Chandler, who managed McIlroy until 2011, says it’s more to do what’s going on off the golf course rather than on it.
McIlroy made headlines in May for all the wrong reasons when, in the build-up to the PGA Championship, it was revealed that he had filed for divorce from wife Erica Stoll. But a few weeks later, this time just before the US Open, it was confirmed that the couple had reconciled.
And it’s that sort of distraction that is stopping McIlroy, who has had 21 top-tens in the majors since his last victory at the 2014 PGA, from getting over the line.
“The top, top players obviously play better more often, and then the really top players take their chances,” Chandler told Talksport.
“That’s all that’s happened with Rory. Rory’s played fantastically for ten years, he just doesn’t take any chances.
“I haven’t seen Rory for a couple of years, but to me it looks like his life is messy. You know what it’s like as a sportsman, you have to have total focus and keep your mind on what you’re doing.
“But it looks like Rory has spent a year and a half fighting LIV for the PGA Tour, then the PGA Tour pulled the rug from under him, then he started talking about LIV not being too bad, then he had his marriage problems, and then he’s got such media scrutiny because he hasn’t won a major in ten years.
“He just can’t get away from it. I think his life is really messy.”
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When asked about his time working with McIlroy through his International Sports Management company, Chandler added: “Well, his life wasn’t messy then.
“At the Open [in] 2007, he was three months away from turning pro. We had a meeting on the patio at Carnoustie, and he bought a house before he actually made any money.
“His contracts were going to be so good in three months’ time that he sat down and he said, ‘I want to buy a house.’ I had never heard a kid like that say that. And that’s what he did, he bought a house before he turned pro. He had the money coming [from] his contract with Jumeirah Hotels, Titleist, whatever.
“He was just a focused kid who wanted to be the best player in the world, he just wanted to win majors.
“But then as he’s got older – and everybody, to be fair, as they get older your life gets messier, doesn’t it? You’ve got family, you’ve got wives, you’ve got business, you’ve got investment. Things get messier.
“And I think his life has got messy. Right now, he’ll be wondering what time to fix the plane to go home!”
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