U.S. Open 2024: Rory McIlroy seemed less than thrilled that Brad Faxon ‘gave away our secrets’

What happens on a private jet, stays on a private jet. Well, at least that’s what Rory McIlroy believes.

Unfortunately, something that happened on the plane from the Memorial Tournament back home did not stay on the plane, and it had to do with a “eureka moment” McIlroy had with his putting. The Northern Irishman had just finished inside the top 20 for the fourth consecutive week and gained 1.2 strokes putting at Muirfield Village, but there he was, still tinkering away 30,000 feet in the sky ahead of the U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

McIlroy’s longtime putting coach, Brad Faxon, more or less gave away this “secret” on the NBC broadcast on Saturday, when McIlroy bounced back on the greens in a big way after losing over two strokes putting on Friday. Sky Sports’ Kira K. Dixon brought up what Faxon mentioned in her post-round interview with McIlroy following his third round, and McIlroy seemed less than thrilled about it. 

“Our NBC colleague Brad Faxon was saying on the broadcast that you had a bit of a ‘eureka’ moment on the plane from the Memorial [Tournament] back home,” Dixon said. “You figured something out, you got up and you were making some practice swings apparently. Is this true, and if so, what is the eureka moment there?”

At this point, you could sense a bit of surprised laughter from the four-time major champion, who took a long pause before sheepishly saying “it may be true.” Moments later, McIlroy tossed in a little jab at his putting guru. 

“I don’t know that I want to disclose it right now,” he said. “Nice to know that Fax is, um, sort of giving away all of our secrets.”

Oof. Check out the video of the exchange below in all of its painfully-awkward glory:

Something tells us that will be the last time Faxon gives away any “secrets.” Next time, there might not be a next time. The good news is, McIlroy has a legitimate chance to win on Sunday, and if that happens he and Fax can share a nice laugh about this one.