Rory McIlroy reveals what Luke Donald told him to change with his putting before The Open

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Rory McIlroy is among the favourites for this week’s Open at Royal Troon and he’s revealed how Luke Donald has been trying to help him.

McIlroy played very well on his return to golf last week as he finished in the top few at the Scottish Open, which Robert MacIntyre won.

Of course, The Open is the one McIlroy wants as he looks to get the monkey off his back of not winning a major since capturing four by 2014.

McIlroy, like many, is a student of the game and is always willing to take on tips from anyone who he feels can help his game.

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Naturally, his Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald is one of those people McIlroy will listen to.

And after revealing in his press conference he’d been speaking to Donald about putting, the Northern Irishman offered up some more detail ahead of his opening round.

Rory McIlroy shares what Luke Donald told him to do when putting on links greens

Speaking during the Live at the Range coverage yesterday, McIlroy revealed how Donald had walked the course with him and gave him a tip for his putting.

“Luke came and walked around yesterday, he is doing some work for TV, he wanted to come and walk and get a feel for how we are going to play the golf course,” McIlory explained.

“I picked his brain a bit about when he came back to links greens what did he think about. He talked about the tempo of the stroke, he tried to make his putting stroke a little brisker and shorter.

“If you look at the old videos, how much pop the old guys had in their stroke, I don’t necessarily want a pop in my stroke but a little more assertiveness through the ball which was something that Luke concentrated on, which was a nice little tip.”

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McIlroy will go into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the whole thing.

But Royal Troon is not an easy place to navigate around, especially if the winds get up, and McIlroy himself has even spoken of the toughest holes around the course.

McIlroy, then, will be hoping for a fast start as he looks to win major number five.