Paul McGinley alarmed after one part of Rory McIlroy’s game said to have gone completely ‘off the boil’

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Rory McIlroy is looking to win his sixth Race to Dubai title as the DP World Tour Championship gets underway at the Earth Course.

On the whole, McIlroy will be pleased with how his game has trended during the autumnal stretch of the DP World Tour season.

McIlroy finished runner-up at the BMW PGA Championship and also placed second at the Irish Open after missing a putt for an eagle on the par-five 18th at Royal County Down.

However, McIlroy’s near-miss at the US Open is what his 2024 season will be remembered for. The 35-year-old’s finishing stretch Pinehurst has raised questions about whether he’s able to cope with the pressures of major championship golf.

Paul McGinley, however, believes that a technical aspect of McIlroy’s game has been declining for several years.

Paul McGinley alarmed by Rory Mcllroy iron play

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Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the DP World Tour Championship, McGinley claimed McIlroy’s iron play has regressed to PGA Tour-average standards.

“The technique is important,” McGinley said. “It’s a very technical game, and technique is important. What has been alarming for me about McIlroy in the last couple of years is how his iron play has come off the boil. It used to be a real strength of his game, but now we are seeing it becoming only average on tour.

“What we do know is the metric of strokes gained approach, in other words, iron play, is a huge determining factor in success. He is right to be working on his technique. His iron play has gone off the boil; that has got to get better.”

Rory strokes gained approach vs PGA field

Let’s see if the data supports McGinley’s comments.

McIlroy currently ranks 54th on the PGA Tour for strokes gained with approach shots. The Northern Irishman is just above average and picks up 0.260 shots per round.

To put McIlroy’s iron play into context, Tom Kim, Matt Wallace, Akshay Bhatia, and Sahith Theegala are all averaging similar numbers.

However, compared to the tour’s elite, McIlroy’s approach play makes for pretty grim reading. Scottie Scheffler is averaging +1.269 strokes gain per round, which means he’s picking up four shots on McIlroy during a 72-hole tournament.

One positive is that McIlroy’s swing changes appeared to pay off at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. McIlroy hit 88% of his greens in regulation in Abu Dhabi, and his iron play appeared to be under far more control, which provides optimism ahead of the 2025 season.