The Telegraph
Fresh from overseeing Rory McIlroy’s first win in 18 months, Pete Cowen is now set on helping his new charge arrest a rather more significant barren run in the majors. “If we can sort out his driving when I see him in a few days’ time, then he should have a great chance in next week’s [US] PGA,” Cowen said. As a renowned no-nonsense Yorkshireman, Cowen does not deal much in “ifs”. But then, he does not normally deal in “putts” either. “It’s funny, because the stats guys are saying that was one of Rory’s best-ever performances on the greens and I gave him a putting lesson before he went off to Quail Hollow,” Cowen said. “And that’s the one aspect of the game I never teach. Maybe I should branch out.” Cowen laughed down the line from Orlando, where he is staying with Ricky Elliott, the caddie of Brooks Koepka, another of Cowen’s four-time major-winning clients. The 70-year-old recognises he is busy enough and that is why he was not at the Wells Fargo Championship when McIlroy prevailed by a shot over Mexican Abraham Ancer in dramatic scenes on Sunday night. “I didn’t even see it as I was on the range with [Henrik] Stenson and had been with [Ian] Poulter earlier on in the day. “I figured that not only with Rory, but also Gary Woodland [the former US Open winner who finished fifth] in the mix that we’d have a winner. I guess Rory isn’t use to having a coach with a few runners in the race, but that might be a good thing, as it’ll keep things a bit less intense. I had three days with him at his place the week before last and we got through a lot of stuff. But you can see from his driving stats that there’s plenty to do and that potential for improvement should fill him full of self-belief.”
Yahoo Sports
