Gary Player: Rory McIlroy needs to find the right wife

We have discussed Rory McIlroy’s struggles several times over the past few months, and the 24-year-old doesn’t appear to be getting any better. Everyone has their own take on what has gone wrong with the former world No. 1. The theories range from issues with his equipment to a lack of focus because of his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki. In reality, Rory probably doesn’t even know what’s wrong.

Nine-time major champion Gary Player expects McIlroy to return to the top after he sorts out his current issues. However, Player questioned the long break McIlroy took after winning the US Open last year.

“I love Rory McIlroy, he’s got talent like you can’t believe, but I was quite perturbed when I saw him win the U.S. Open (last year) and then the next tournament he played was one month later,” Player told Britain’s Talksport radio, via Reuters. “You can’t do that. What he should have done was take a week off after winning the U.S. Open to settle down and then play two tournaments.

“You’ve got to prepare properly. He has a few problems at this stage of his life but everyone has problems.”

Nick Faldo recently said that McIlroy needs to spend more time on the course and not worry about distractions in his personal life, because the window for a golf career is so small. Player expressed a similar sentiment, albeit in a much kinder manner.

“When you’re in love as a young man, naturally golf seems to take second place for a while,” the 77-year-old legend explained. “It’s natural – love is still the greatest thing that ever happens in our lives.

“But the thing is for a man like Rory with talent galore, he has got to make sure he has a woman like I’ve got, who has been married (to me) for 56 years, that has only encouraged me to do well and has made sacrifices. He’s got to be intelligent and find the right wife. If he finds the right wife, if he practices and if he’s dedicated, he could be the man.”

Wozniacki is a professional tennis player, so I’m sure she understands that McIlroy needs to focus on his career in order to return to the top. As I said before, I think the theory that McIlroy is distracted by love is way overblown. Hopefully he can prove me right down the stretch.