Spain’s Angel Ayora practiced alongside World No. 2 Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship. Currently competing at the Italian Open, the Spaniard revealed that a lesson he picked up from the Irishman has already influenced his approach off the tee.

With rounds of 72 and 74, Ayora missed the cut at Aronimink by two strokes. However, the experience proved valuable, as the 21-year-old has since made a notable adjustment to his game.

"At the PGA Championship, I was practising with Rory McIlroy. I noticed that you've got to hit it high, because sometimes on these courses it's very good to have it as you need to clear trees and bunkers,” Ayora said in an interview posted by the DP World Tour on X on June 27.

McIlroy, who ranked second in driving distance at the PGA Championship, is widely considered one of the game's best drivers. Ayora got a firsthand look at the Irishman's power at Aronimink, while McIlroy currently leads the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee at 0.845.

Ayora revealed that he has implemented the takeaway in his own game.

"My stock shot is not that low, it's medium low. But it's quite easy for me to hit it high, so I'm doing that right now!" he added.

The shift seems to have paid off for the Spaniard. Ayora registered a tie for third at the KLM Open following the PGA Championship. He has also gotten off to a strong start at the Italian Open.

A few weeks earlier, McIlroy admitted that driving remained a concern despite it being one of the strongest parts of his game.

McIlroy shares concerns regarding his driving 

Ahead of the U.S. Open and after the Memorial, McIlroy pointed out that his driving was holding him back.

"It was sort of like two steps forward, one step back. Off the tee still wasn’t where I want it to be. I feel limited at the minute. Thankfully, the fairways at Shinnecock are a little wider than they are here," McIlroy said, per Golf Magic.

Although McIlroy led the driving distance statistics at the Memorial Tournament, he hit just 30 of 56 fairways during the week.

While driving remained his strongest asset, his driving accuracy was not up to the mark. He finished tied for 38th in the field in driving accuracy.

The Irishman is still looking for answers regarding his driving accuracy and has yet to add to his Masters win this season.

What are your thoughts on Ayora’s takeaway from McIlroy’s game? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav