Tiger Woods ex coach sparks war among golf fans with ‘mean’ Rory McIlroy US Open comment

Tiger Woods’ former coach Hank Haney has endured a fierce backlash from golf fans after making this claim about Rory McIlroy’s US Open collapse.

If there’s one thing that can be said about Tiger Woods’ former coach Hank Haney, it’s that he doesn’t hold back with his views.His latest claim on X has received a mixed response to the say the least.

Haney took to the platform on 19 June to claim that had Rory McIlroy had Woods’ former caddie Steve Williams on the bag then his fate at the US Open would’ve been far different.

The swing instructor claimed Williams would have prevented McIlroy hitting a 7-iron into Pinehurst No.2’s par-three 15th hole.

McIlroy missed the green long last Sunday and in truth was fortunate to escape with a bogey.

“Wong club, wrong shot, bad plan,” Haney wrote on the platform.

McIlroy then missed a par putt inside three feet at the next hole before making a gutsy sand save at the 17th after his swing deserted him.

His club choice off the tee at the 72nd hole was also heavily scrutinised.

The 35-year-old opted to hit driver which, at the time, baffled Sir Nick Faldo in the commentary box and made Wayne ‘Radar’ Riley panic.

At this point we all know what happened next.

The inquest has well and truly begun.

Still, Haney’s opinion was the subject of a feverish from golf fans on Wednesday.

One golf fan pointed out that Williams was on the bag when Adam Scott made bogey on the closing four holes to lose the 2012 Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

“I think it probably hurts me more today than it did at the time,” Scott told BBC Sport earlier in the week as he reacted to McIlroy’s implosion.

“I remember feeling numb after that. But it is really gutting now that I don’t have a Claret Jug. I blew it.”

Reacting to Haney’s post, one wrote: “You have absolutely no way of knowing that. How dare you say ‘I can promise you…’

“What a spiteful and unnecessary tweet. But then again, that seems to be your MO.”

Another said: “Hank has selective memory.”

This user wrote: “Shut up Hank, your 15 minutes was 15 years ago.”

Haney was Woods’ coach from 2004 to 2010, a stretch that saw him win six major titles.

The duo split a few months after revelations about Woods’ private life broke in 2009.

“I hate saying that”

English tour pro Eddie Pepperell implored McIlroy to change his caddie after watching the drama unfold.

Pepperell told The Chipping Forecast that he now believes his caddie Harry Diamond is holding him back.

I hate saying that about Harry because I’m sure he’s a lovely guy. And I’m sure he’s a good caddie.

“But today, I felt Rory needed somebody that could pull him through the finish line. Rory should never have lost that golf tournament today.

“And I’m adamant about that. I’m sure if he had a super experienced, strong caddie, he would have just pulled him through.

“And I think that that’s the thing that’s holding him back in majors. I could be wrong, but that’s what I think and a bogey on 15 was just emblematic.

“He was in complete control. Watching on the television, Bryson looked nervous, he looked tense. Rory looked supremely confident and he picked the wrong club on 15.

“He hit a good shot, but it went long in the one place he couldn’t hit, made a bogey.

“I know what that feels like as a player when you’re in control on a Sunday.

“You want to get to the 18th green without anything getting in your way that can scupper your mindset because you’re in this lovely little rhythm.

“And obviously in a US Open, it’s so easy to get jolted out of that rhythm because there’s disaster lurking around any corner.

“But that’s where a great caddie would have just made Rory hit an eight iron to 45 feet front left and just two putt and he made a bogey at the wrong time.

“To my mind watching it, it just set him up for what happened.”