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Already under the microscope, the scrutiny was even greater after the missed cut at Wentworth. McIlroy tossed a 6-iron after a bad shot in the second round, and even though he was at the course the next day for a marathon practice session, he caused a small stir when he flew to Paris that evening to be with his girlfriend, tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, at the French Open.
McIlroy brought his swing coach, Michael Bannon, to America for an extended stretch of golf. Along with his U.S. Open title defense in two weeks in San Francisco, he added the St. Jude Classic in Memphis next week to his schedule.
"I just feel like I need more rounds," he said. "These two-day weeks aren't really that good for me."
Stricker had not had a weekend off since the PGA Championship at Whistling Straits in 2010, so missing the cut at Sawgrass was a small shock to the system. And the biggest shock of all was that his putting has been holding him back. Stricker is revered as the best in golf with the flat stick.
"TPC, I just didn't really have anything," he said. "I hit the ball fine, just scoring clubs, around the green, putting ... my putting has been actually giving me some problems here and there. I don't feel like I'm that far off. I've been hitting a lot of good putts. They're just not going in. And I've been putting a lot of effort into that at home the last couple weeks trying to figure out what's been going on there, if anything.
"Sometimes you just go through periods of time where the ball doesn't go in."
This would be a good time for some of these players to pick up the pace. Not only is the U.S. Open two weeks away, they face a Muirfield Village course this week that is firm and fast from recent sunshine.
[Associated Press;
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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