Brad Faxon reveals the unusual advice he gave Rory McIlroy on Sunday morning before The Masters final round

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Brad Faxon has revealed the advice he gave Rory McIlroy before the final round at The Masters on Sunday.

McIlroy was under so much pressure heading into the last 18 holes at Augusta National, with a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau.

The Northern Irishman had come so close to winning the Green Jacket and completing the career Grand Slam in the past that it almost felt like now or never.

He almost threw it away several times, but perhaps listening to Faxon’s advice is what helped him over the line.

• READ MORE: Colin Cowherd picks the ‘two great qualities’ which make Rory McIlroy so incredible to watch and compares him to Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus

Brad Faxon gave Rory McIlroy putting advice before The Masters final round

Faxon had an excellent PGA Tour career, winning eight events, and was widely regarded as the best putter in the world.

He now offers putting tips to some of the top players, including McIlroy, who he spoke to on Sunday morning.

However, the American didn’t give McIlroy any technical advice about his grip or posture. Instead, it was a light-hearted comment to take inspiration from his daughter Poppy.

“I knew Rory was nervous,” Faxon said. “I got to speak to him on Sunday morning about 10 o’clock before he went out there. He was at his rental house at The Masters.

“He was with Poppy, and she was actually holding a golf club and trying to hit a little ball around the house. Rory was kind of laughing, and then Poppy said hello to me.

“I said, ‘Rory, this might be a good idea. Why don’t you just kind of practice putting like a child and get that child-like enthusiasm.’ You know, he had mentioned his dreams of winning The Masters since he was eight years old, and I said, ‘Hey, what a way to think about it going out there.”

Rory McIlroy still didn’t putt well on Sunday at The Masters

We’ll never know whether Faxon’s advice made a difference to McIlroy, but what we can see is the statistics for each round.

These numbers tell us that McIlroy actually putted worse on Sunday than his average throughout the tournament.

The average number of putts per green in regulation

Michael Kim led the field on Sunday with 1.39 putts per green in regulation, while DeChambeau struggled at 1.78.

McIlroy was somewhere in the middle, so it wasn’t too bad, but he definitely could’ve done better. The missed eagle effort on the 15th green comes to mind.