Johnny Miller: Rory McIlroy is struggling because he’s in love for first time

Rory McIlroy is still looking to find his stroke this season, and the British Open would be a good place to discover it this week. McIlroy’s recent performance has left little hope that he stands a chance at Muirfield. The 23-year-old has admitted he is still struggling to find the right clubs since his switch to Nike, but PGA analyst Johnny Miller thinks he is having other problems.

In addition to leaving his shoulder too open when he’s addressing the ball, Miller believes McIlroy’s ongoing romance with Caroline Wozniacki has had a negative effect on his play.

“I think he’s in love for the first time,” Miller said, via the San Francisco Chronicle (via For the Win). “It’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s distracting.”

Miller then went on to talk about McIlroy’s switch to Nike.

“Then I would say it’s one thing to change your driver or wedge, but you’re asking for huge trouble when you change all your clubs and your golf ball at the same time,” he said. “I did it with Wilson, and I went into an immediate slump for four or five months. …”

This is certainly not the first time we have heard someone blame McIlroy’s struggles on his relationship with Woz. There was recently speculation that he might be playing poorly because the two are going through a break-up, but they spent time together and put those rumors to rest.

Rory may not even know what the problem is, but the longer it persists the more the pressure builds. The important thing to remember is that McIlroy won three of the final six events on the PGA tour last year, starting with the PGA Championship in mid-August. It’s certainly possible that he could turn it on again down the stretch this season. Time will tell.