It’s clear where Rory McIlroy still needs to improve despite his success in 2026 so far

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Rory McIlroy has been one of the standout players on the PGA Tour in 2026, typified by his win at The Masters.

McIlroy won The Masters at Augusta National for the second year running, claiming a one-shot victory over Scottie Scheffler.

It represents his only win on the PGA Tour in 2026 so far, but he does boast one runner-up finish and two top fives from his seven starts.

McIlroy has also made all seven cuts in another very successful campaign, but even he still has room for improvement.

Is Brandel Chamblee right? Is Scottie’s A-game miles better than Rory’s?

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Rory McIlroy can improve his putting despite 2026 success

First and foremost, McIlroy has really impressed in most of the all-important Strokes Gained categories in 2026.

In fact, just before the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, he ranked first for SG: Off-the-Tee and second for SG: Tee-to-Green.

The Northern Irishman was also in third for SG: Total, and ninth for SG: Approach the Green, highlighting his quality in various areas.

However, he’s down in 63rd for SG: Around-the-Green, and perhaps more worryingly, 68th for SG: Putting.

Notably, he’s all the way down in 118th for both overall putting average and putts per round at this stage of the PGA Tour season.

McIlroy has often stuttered on the greens at significant moments in his career, which he certainly won’t want to repeat.

With a reduced schedule this season, the six-time major champion should have plenty of time on his hands to reignite a lost spark with his putter, while he may also keep a close eye on his skills around the green.

What really hurt Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship

McIlroy is currently taking time off after the PGA Championship at Aronimink, where he finished in a tie for seventh.

And while he can be satisfied by his efforts at a very tricky course in Pennsylvania, he may have one regret in particular.

McIlroy ranked second in the field for driving distance and indeed the longest drive, but way back in T75 for driving accuracy, which was the worst statistical category of his entire event.

Across his 72 holes at the major championship, he hit just 23 of 56 fairways, representing a figure of 41.07%.

Highlighting just how important it was to find the fairways at Aronimink, PGA Championship winner Rai finished his week with a figure of 67.86%, ranking him in fourth place.