Rory McIlroy’s former agent blames Open Championship nightmare on ‘really messy life’ amid Erica Stoll divorce U-turn drama

Rory McIlroy’s former agent believes his ‘messy’ life is contributing to his decline in major tournaments.

The Northern Irishman is competing in the Open Championship at Royal Troon, but his struggles on the course continue as he looks set to miss the cut after finishing seven over par on Thursday.

Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler told talkSPORT how his former client’s drought was caused by stress in other areas of his life.

“The top, top players of course play better more often, and then the really top players take their chances,” he said. “That’s all that happened with Rory. Rory played fantastically for ten years, he just doesn’t take any risks.

“From the outside looking in, and I haven’t seen Rory for a few years, it looks like his life is a mess. You know what it’s like as an athlete, you have to be completely focused and keep your mind on what you’re doing.

Chandler insists McIlroy can bounce back from setbacks

“But it seems like Rory fought LIV for a year and a half on the PGA Tour, then the PGA Tour pulled the ground out from under him, he started saying LIV wasn’t that bad, he started having marital problems and now he’s in the media spotlight because he hasn’t won a major in 10 years.”

“So he just can’t get rid of it. I think his life is really a mess.”

McIlroy began the second round of his battle with Royal Troon on Friday morning in a bid to make the cut in Ayrshire after falling victim to the famous eighth hole on Thursday.

McIlroy’s precarious position at the final major tournament of the year comes a month after his dramatic loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open in North Carolina.

He had the tournament at his mercy, as he had a one-stroke lead over DeChambeau. However, he had a par putt of 2ft 6ins and missed. And then on 18, McIlroy had another par putt of 3ft 9ins – which he also missed.

McIlroy recently filed for divorce from Erica Stoll, but called off the split

His briefly estranged wife Erica Stoll joined him at the Scottish Open last week

Chandler worked with McIlroy until he decided to leave ISM in 2011

The cinematic conclusion at Pinehurst also came during a turbulent period off the track.

McIlroy shocked the golfing world by filing for divorce from Erica Stoll, his wife of seven years, just days before the PGA Championship in May, declaring their marriage irretrievably broken.

During their short-lived separation, the PGA Tour star was rumored to be hooking up with CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, 38, with whom he was spotted embracing after giving an interview at the RBC Canadian Open at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.

However, McIlroy dropped another surprise in the run-up to last month’s major when he called off the split to resolve differences in the interests of their family.

Stoll was recently seen on court when McIlroy competed at the Scottish Open last week, but she has not yet been spotted at Royal Troon.

Even after their reconciliation, his high-profile problems continue to draw attention, as McIlroy has not won a major since the 2014 PGA Championship.

Chandler was McIlroy’s first manager until the golfer decided to part ways with International Sports Management in 2011. While he noted how “messy” McIlroy’s life had become over the years, Chandler insisted he could bounce back from the setback.

McIlroy finished seven over par at the Open Championship on Thursday

McIlroy suffered a heartbreaking loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the US Open in North Carolina

With the tournament within reach, McIlroy missed two putts inside four feet

“He was just a focused kid who wanted to be the best player in the world, he just wanted to win majors, but as he got older — and everybody, to be honest, as they get older, your life gets messier, right? You’ve got family, you’ve got wives, you’ve got businesses, you’ve got investments. Things get messier.

“And I think his life is in shambles. He’s going to be wondering what time he’s going to fix the plane to get home!”

‘Listen, he’s going out today and doing his best [Friday]and his best is very good. So if he plays his best, he could make the cut, but he’s going to have to play very, very well, right? And what is he, seven over? He’s got to shoot 67 or under, which he can certainly do.

“But in his mind it’s going to be, ‘What time can I get out of here?’ The last place I think he wants to be right now, especially playing poorly, is a golf course. He just wants to get back to his normal life.”